Emmanuel Sanders' Grandmother Prayed WR Would Sign with Drew Brees, Saints

Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said his grandma's love of the New Orleans Saints and his family's ability to attend his games played a key role in his decision to choose the Saints over the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans in free agency.

Katherine Terrell of The Athletic provided Sanders' comments from a conference call with reporters Sunday:

"One of the first people I called was my grandma, because she called me, her and my aunt were on the phone when free agency started, and she said, 'We're praying you go to New Orleans!' The Texans, they had an opportunity and needed a receiver, the Cowboys needed one, but my grandma was talking about New Orleans because she loves that team. She loves Drew Brees, she loves Sean Payton, she loves the offense and she wanted to watch me play. When I called her and told her she was so excited about it ...

"Not only that, she's excited because literally they can drive to the game if they wanted. My family, I don't know how far of a distance it is, but I know last year when (the 49ers played the Saints in New Orleans) I had like 15 family members drive up, so it can't be that long of a drive. So that's pretty cool to be back down South and be close to my family as well."

New Orleans signed Sanders to a two-year, $16 million contract and became his third team since the start of the 2019 season. He opened last year as a member of the Denver Broncos before an October trade to the San Francisco 49ers, who made a run to Super Bowl LIV.

The 33-year-old SMU product recorded 66 receptions for 869 yards and five touchdowns across 17 appearances (10 with San Francisco and seven with Denver) last year. He added five catches for 71 yards during the Niners' three-game playoff run.

Now he's set to join one of the NFL's most star-studded offenses, which includes Brees, running back Alvin Kamara, fellow wide receiver Michael Thomas, tight end Jared Cook and the league's premier X-factor, Taysom Hill.

"Ultimately, the goal is to try to bring a Super Bowl to New Orleans, and that's the reason I signed that deal. I know I've got a great chance of winning another Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints," Sanders said, per Terrell.

He added: "I don't know how they're going to use me, I haven't even gotten into the details of X's and O's with Sean Payton or Drew Brees. I'm looking forward to knowing how they're going to use me and seeing how it fits. I think, regardless, I'll be a good fit."

Sanders' target volume is likely to drop simply because of the Saints' number of weapons. That said, with opposing defenses forced to focus on Thomas—who set the NFL record with 149 receptions last season—he should make plenty of plays down the field against one-on-one coverage. 

Getting up to speed within the New Orleans offense will have to wait, though. The NFL announced all offseason team workouts have been delayed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

With the bulk of free agency now complete, Caesars Palace has the Saints tied for the fifth-best title odds (+1,400) behind only the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (+400), 49ers (+700), Baltimore Ravens (+800) and Dallas Cowboys (+1,100).