Mohamed Sanu was latest failure at receiver for Patriots in 2019

The New England Patriots released Mohamed Sanu, another failure at wide receiver.

The New England Patriots let it be known on Wednesday evening were releasing wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. Sanu was originally acquired last season for a second-round draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. His departure is another item on a long list of failures and mishaps at wide receiver during the 2019 season.

Sanu was actually the second splashy move at wide receiver for the Patriots is 2019. Their first was the signing of former Pro Bowl receiver Antonio Brown. Brown was signed to a one year contract with a $9 million signing bonus. Unfortunately for the Patriots, Brown’s off the field issues meant he was only around for one game against the Miami Dolphins.

When Brown was signed, most people thought the Patriots might have a loaded wide receiving corps. At the time, they had the recently reinstated Josh Gordon, free agent signing Demaryius Thomas and Julian Edelman as veteran stalwarts. By adding Brown to this group and with Tom Brady as the team’s quarterback, most people assumed the team’s passing attack would be one of the best in the NFL.

Mohamed Sanu was another exercise in receiver futility for the Patriots.

By the end of the 2019 season, Edelman was the only player left on the roster amid a season of offensive futility and frustration from Brady.

Thomas wound up being traded to the Jets to help make room on the roster for the newly signed Brown. Gordon was often ineffective and was placed on injured reserve before ultimately being released in October. Before being shut down, Gordon had only managed to produce 20 receptions for 287 yards for a team struggling to find a receiver to compliment Edelman.

Besides the receivers who the Patriots jettisoned before the season ended, the team had struggles with other receivers on the roster. N’Keal Harry was the first wide receiver Bill Belichick had drafted in the first round for the Patriots.

He didn’t exactly justify the pick as he spent the beginning of the season on injured reserve. When Harry did return, he only played in seven games and had 12 receptions for 105 yards. Harry appeared to struggle to get on the same page with Brady and understanding the concepts of the offense. His rookie year felt like a waste or a lost season.

Sanu was brought in to add another weapon for Brady. He had been used in many different roles as a receiver in Atlanta and there was hope he could get up to speed and do the same in New England.

Sanu sprained his ankle in the team’s Week 11 win in Philadelphia and was never the same for the rest of the season. He ended the season playing in eight games with just 26 receptions for 207 yards. It was not what the team was expecting when they gave up that second-round pick for him.

The 2019 season was a disaster for the New England Patriots in many ways, but no other position truly epitomizes how bad things went than wide receiver. Other than Edelman, no other receiver on the team was able to establish themselves and bring any momentum into the offseason or the recent training camp.

Harry still seems to be having issues running routes and getting open. There was hope for Sanu and now he’s gone. We shouldn’t be surprised by the cutting of Sanu. The team swung and missed on all of their veteran receivers in 2019.