NY Giants: Free Agency Watch – Mohamed Sanu
by Tom Peticca
With free agency approaching quickly its time to start taking a look at whom the Giants will target. The Giants have plenty of cap space to play with so Jerry Reese has a good opportunity to fill holes on both sides of the football.
One place Reese can start that could be a solid positive impact for not a huge price is Bengals wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. With question marks surrounding Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle, going after a young receiver who would be a new face for the Giants could benefit the team.
Randle and Sanu both came in to the league in 2012 respectively as second and third round picks and both are free agents starting March 9th. While Randle’s numbers have been better than Sanu’s on the surface, Randle was targeted much more often in the NY Giants offensive than Sanu was in his time in Cincinnati.
Giant’s fans were often not impressed with Randle’s production and effort on the field while Sanu was lower on the receiving food chain in Cincinnati with stars like AJ Green, Marvin Jones, and Tyler Eifert above him. Adding Sanu would benefit both sides of this deal. Sanu would get an opportunity with a new team that would target him more and the Giants would get a new face in the locker room with something to prove in helping the receiving core.
After yet another frustrating end to a season in Cincinnati it wouldn’t be wild to think that some Bengals players would want to play elsewhere. A move to the Giants would make sense for Sanu, who grew up in New Jersey and played his college ball at Rutgers University. An opportunity to play ball in his home state and be closer to his family should be appealing to most players, much more appealing than other potential suitors like Cleveland or San Francisco.
The Giants wouldn’t have to spend much money to sign him. His best production year was in 2014 when he caught 56 balls for 790 yards but his numbers took a dip this year with the return of Marvin Jones from injury. The numbers drop drives his asking price down and it would be crazy to think the Giants can sign him to a 2-3 year deal hovering around $4 or $5 million a year. Not a huge cap hit for a potential big target for Eli and the Giants passing attack.
(@peticca95)