The Denver Broncos this week traded Emmanuel Sanders and a fifth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for a third and fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

John Elway — the president of team operations for the Denver Broncos — on Tuesday addressed his decision to trade Sanders, which came after a five-catch, 60-yard performance on Sunday.

“I think eventually with what happened after the Tennessee game [a 16-0 victory] and where we were and with the value we were getting for him, we decided it was the best thing for our team to trade Emmanuel,” Elway said to a news conference.

In the game against the Titans Elway is referencing, Sanders had one catches on three targets, which netted zero yards for the team. Two weeks before that, he had five catches for 104 yards in a two-point loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While inconsistent this season, Sanders is a solid receiver and has been much greater in the past. He will help a 49ers team greatly down the stretch.

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Elway said that it was Sanders who requested the trade.

“When we looked at it, Emmanuel had issues and we had issues,” Elway said. “That is why it was a good time for us to go different directions — for Emmanuel to go in a different direction and for us to go in a different direction. With that being said, we were able to get the value that we thought was fair. That is why we decided to make the deal.”

Sanders was in the middle of his sixth season with the Broncos before the trade. He had 404 receptions for 5,361 yards and 28 touchdowns in 78 games for Denver. He had started 77 of the 78 games.

It was an overall amicable breakup, as he told CBS Denver he was happy for his time in Denver.

“It’s hard anytime you break up or leave a place,” he said. “It’s tough. We definitely had a great run in Denver, had a lot of great times but all good things come to an end. Looking forward to getting out to San Fran and showcasing my talent.”

The Atlanta Falcons on Monday dealt tight end Eric Saubert to the New England Patriots for a conditional seventh-round draft pick.

Saubert, a 25-year-old 2017 fifth-round pick, is a 6-foot-5, 253-pound tight end who played all 16 regular-season games with Atlanta last season, his second with the team. He compiled five catches for 48 yards and also served as a utility man.

The reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots — who are now missing retired tight end Rob Gronkowski — are set to add more depth to their tight end chart thanks to Saubert. New England’s roster at the position already includes veterans Lance Kendricks and Benjamin Watson, second-year player Ryan Izzo and star tight end Matt LaCosse, who sustained an undisclosed leg injury in the Pats’ 31-3 preseason-opening victory over the Detroit Lions last week. Watson has been suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

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During his final college season at Drake, Saubert finished as the second-best tight end after averaging 70.5 receiving yards per game (56 catches for 776 receiving yards). He was known at the time for being a pass and run blocker. Saubert also reportedly caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady during his first Patriots practice this week.

Antonio Brown will be an Oakland Raider. Just days after trade talks with the Buffalo Bills collapsed, the Pittsburgh Steelers have found a way to ship out the Pro Bowl wide receiver who they believe to be the cause of their locker room drama.

The Raiders will send a third-round and a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft in exchange for the former sixth-round pick. They’ve also agreed to renegotiate Brown’s contract by increasing his salary from $38.9 million to $50 million.

Raiders Land WR Antonio Brown Via Trade

In the new deal, $30 million of Brown’s contract would be guaranteed. Previously, none of it was. According to ESPN, with incentives, Brown could pull in over $54 million in the next three years.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

While the contract upgrade may seem ridiculous, the Raiders can afford it after giving up very little to acquire the pass-catcher. In 2018, Brown caught 104 passes for 1,297 receiving yards and a league-high 15 touchdown catches. Though at 30, it may seem like his best days are behind him, he possesses the skills to age gracefully.

Brown also seems more than happy to be in Oakland. After shooting down the Buffalo trade, he took to Instagram to celebrate this one. Moments before news of the swap broke, Brown posted a photo of himself in a Raiders uniform.

After a lackluster year, coach Jon Gruden looks to fix up the Oakland roster. He seems to still have confidence in quarterback Derek Carr and may add another weapon this offseason. Some around the league think it’s perfectly reasonable that Le’Veon Bell could receive the same contract the Raiders gave Brown. Adding Bell is another high-risk, high-reward move for an Oakland squad in need of hype for a move to Las Vegas.

The Washington Redskins traded for Case Keenum last week. Keenum will now vie for the starting quarterback role against Colt McCoy. Alex Smith, who the Redskins traded for before the 2018 season, will most likely miss the 2019 season after missing a handful of games this year due to an absolutely gruesome leg injury. For just a sixth-round pick, the Redskins feel confident that they’ve found a stopgap under center. Washington will also now receive a seventh-round pick from the Denver Broncos as part of the deal.

Case Keenum Lands With Washington

Keenum was originally slated to carry a $21 million cap hit this year. However, he reworked his contract and will be on a one-year deal in Washington. The 31-year-old has a base salary of $18 million this season but only $7 million of it is guaranteed, and this is expected to be split evenly by both teams.

Had the Broncos just cut Keenum, they would’ve had $10 million in “dead money” cap hits. Instead, they’ll pay out only $3.5 million as well as a $500,000 restructuring bonus.

After a season in which he led the Minnesota Vikings to an NFC Championship Game appearance, Keenum signed a two-year, $36 million dollar deal with the Broncos. He was not able to replicate his success in Denver. The team went 6-10, head coach Vance Joseph was fired and Vic Fangio was ultimately brought in to replace him.

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The trade shows that neither team seems to have a successful plan for the future. The Redskins are tethering a mid-level team to quarterback play that won’t bring it over the top as it ages. The Broncos shipped off Keenum to bet on Joe Flacco. As the 2019 quarterback class continues to emerge as a viable option to find a starter, the Redskins turned away completely.

“That’s hard; this is new to everybody,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said of Smith’s absence and the team’s current quarterback situation. “This is an injury that’s tough to overcome, but you also don’t know Alex and what he can do with his mind and what he can overcome. Will he be ready next year or the year after? I don’t know. We’ll play it by ear.”

Antonio Brown‘s nightmare of an offseason only gets longer. The wideout refuses to stay off social media and out of his team’s head.

Antonio Brown Reveals Trade Demands

On Sunday, Brown took to Instagram Live to list his demands as he sweat it out on an elliptical. He shouted motivational phrases at no one, took a call from a friend, and then stated what he was looking for in a new team. Check out the bizarre video below:

During the video, Brown said: “If your squad want to win, and your squad want a hungry wide receiver who the best in the whole world, someone hit my phone. Tell ‘em I ain’t doing no unguarantees, I ain’t even gonna play myself no more for this NFL, you heard? I think I done everything. What y’all think? What’s left for me to do? Win the Super Bowl? Gotta be the right team for that, right?”

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He later added, “Hey, if your team got guaranteed money, tell ‘em call me. AB can’t do no more unguarantees. So we clear. I want y’all to be clear and understand something: this is not a game, people. This is not for show. This is not to be cool. This is really to inspire you that, yo, no one can determine your destination but you.”

On Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers front office staff and owner Art Rooney met with Brown and his agent to discuss the situation. The meeting was cordial and “everyone agreed that a trade will be for the best.”

Brown later posted a picture with Rooney to Instagram. He wrote: “Had a great meeting with Mr.Rooney today we discussed a lot of things and we cleared the air on several issues! We both agreed that it is time to move on but I’ll always have appreciation and gratitude towards the Rooney family and @steelers organization! #CallGod #Boomin”

When the Denver Broncos made the move to trade for Joe Flacco this week, it certainly shook things up a little bit in the NFL. Flacco has been struggling for the past couple of seasons, ranking in some of the bottom percentages of the league. Fans and members of the media didn’t understand the trade and it’s believed by many Case Keenum was a better quarterback for the team.

Broncos Land Joe Flacco

What stands out the most to the majority of general managers trying to sign Flacco is his QBR (Quarterback Rating), which ranked 34th out of 35 in the NFL for the past couple of years. With QBR being a good indication of how well a quarterback has been playing, it’s a tell-tale sign that Flacco has been struggling.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Veterans on the team, however, approved of the trade. Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said in a text to Mike Klis of 9NEWS: “Veteran leader who has won the big game. We also have money to spend to in free agency as well. Looking forward to seeing more pieces put into place.”

Chris Harris Jr., another veteran on the team, approved of the trade as well. Harris hopes the Broncos can put more pieces around Joe as the team expands and picks up more free agents. He also believed Flacco’s veteran and Super Bowl experience to be an asset to the team.

Some players could be remembering when Flacco and the Ravens faced off against the Denver Broncos themselves and led a game-saving drive to send the game into overtime and eventually win. That year, Flacco had played outstanding in the postseason and finished it all off by being named Super Bowl MVP.

But based off of Flacco’s recent playing, this was still a pretty big gamble for GM John Elway, with Flacco being the fourth quarterback the Broncos have had under center after Peyton Manning retired. Elway clearly seems to be running out of options.

The Rams traded on Tuesday’s deadline for former third overall pick defensive end Dante Fowler.

Rams Get Jags DE Dante Fowler

Fowler joins an already strong defense led by Ndamukong Suh, Aaron Donald, and Aqib Talib. Los Angeles, the only undefeated team, traded a 2019 third-round pick and a 2020 fourth-round pick for the DE, who is in the last year of his contract. According to NFL Network, the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers were also in the running for him but found Jacksonville’s asking price too high.

Despite missing a game, Fowler’s had eight tackles and two sacks this season. Throughout his career — one that started off with an ACL tear that caused him to miss his rookie season — he’s racked up 14 sacks and 22 quarterback hits.

The 24-year-old has been in hot water since reaching the NFL, which might have contributed to the trade. In 2016, he was captured on video refereeing a fight between his girlfriend and the mother of his child. A few weeks later, he was arrested and charged with assault against a police officer and resisting arrest without violence. Then, he pleaded no contest to charges of battery, criminal mischief, and petty theft.

A change of scenery might be helpful for Fowler. Because Jacksonville failed to pick up the option on his contract, these next few weeks will weigh heavily on his future.