Patriots: Mohamed Sanu release confirms trade was worst Bill Belichick ever made

The Patriots have reportedly cut ties with veteran wideout Mohamed Sanu.

Earlier on Wednesday it was reported that wide receiver Mohamed Sanu could very well be a surprise roster cut for the New England Patriots as teams are required to trim down to 53 players with opening kickoff less than 14 days away.

It didn’t take long for that report to come to fruition, as Bill Belichick has officially made the decision. Sanu is no longer a Patriot, which really doesn’t come as a huge surprise. He’s looked downright bad in training camp to follow up his equally awful showing in eight games with the team last year, and his release will save New England another chunk of cash.

But perhaps deserving of more discussion is the fact that this is the worst trade Belichick has made during his two decades in Foxborough.

Last year, the Pats sent a second-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for Sanu, who at that point in the season had 33 receptions for 313 yards and one touchdown. Though he was playing on a bum ankle, he didn’t seem to grasp the Patriots’ offense whatsoever, made some boneheaded mistakes, and was far from a sure-handed target for Tom Brady.

His 26 catches for 207 yards for one score proved that, as did his FOUR drops. The drops haven’t stopped in practice either. He appeared to be struggling in some agility drills and then took this soft toss right off the facemask.

Mohamed Sanu Contract Details

Why else was this trade bad? The Patriots paid $3.53 million for those eight games of Sanu, and though they’ll be off the hook for his $6.5 million salary in 2020, it’s still a bad look when you consider Jamie Collins, Sony Michel and Joe Thuney all made less than that for the entirety of 2019.

Not only that, but the Falcons used the second-round pick NE sent to acquire tight end Hayden Hurst from the Baltimore Ravens following the departure of Austin Hooper, and then Atlanta used their other second-round pick on Auburn stud defensive tackle Marlon Davidson. That seems like something Belichick would do, not Thomas Dimitroff!

Lastly, it seemed Belichick overpaid here to provide Brady with another weapon, given the offense took a step back and the veteran quarterback had made comments about the team failing to surround him with capable talent, especially after the departure of Rob Gronkowski. At the time, Sanu seemed like a shrewd acquisition given his experience, abilities, and price tag, but it truly couldn’t have blown up in the team’s face any worse than it did.

Brady left for Tampa (quite possibly) as a result, and the rest is history. Man, what if Sanu panned out and gave the Pats the extra burst of energy and dynamism they needed in 2019?

The only silver lining here is that the Patriots will save money, but at what cost? You’re still down an offensive playmaker, which is what Cam Newton needs if he wants to succeed and take this team to the playoffs.

Then again, if this is the worst trade Belichick will make as a head coach/general manager, that’s pretty damn good. There have been far more egregious deals that have set franchises back. This is hardly that, but it still does have lasting implications even if they’re not overly severe.

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