For the second consecutive year, Mohamed Sanu is being summoned to help revive a depleted receiving corps. Sanu, who was traded from Atlanta to New England during the 2019 season, is now signing with the 49ers, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Sanu, who was waived by the Patriots earlier this month, caught 59 passes for 520 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games last season.
He spent his first four NFL seasons in Cincinnati, catching 152 passes for 1,793 yards and 11 touchdowns with the Bengals. In 2016, Sanu signed with the Falcons, helping Atlanta reach the Super Bowl during his first season with the team. In 2018, his last full season in Atlanta, Sanu caught 66 passes for a career high 838 yards and four touchdowns.
Last season, the Patriots traded a second-round pick to the Falcons in exchange for Sanu following Antonio Brown's suspension and Josh Gordon landing on injured reserve. In six regular season games with the Patriots, Sanu caught 26 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown. He caught just one pass for 11 yards in New England's playoff loss to the Titans.
In 118 career regular season games, the 31-year-old Sanu has caught 403 passes for 4,507 yards and 26 touchdowns. He has also caught 26 passes for 318 yards and two scores in nine career playoff games.
Sanu is joining a 49ers receiving corps that has been decimated by injury over the past several months. San Francisco's injuries at receiver were a major reason why they came up short in their season-opener against divisional foe Arizona. Deebo Samuel not expected to be back for at least several more weeks after suffering a setback in his recovery, while George Kittle, arguably the best tight end in the NFL, sustained a knee sprain on Sunday that could keep him out of this week's game against the Jets.
The addition of Sanu can help keep the 49ers' offense at bay until Samuel and some of the 49ers' other playmakers (including rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk) are back to full strength.
