As is always the case, NFL teams lose in-house free agents and are then tasked with replacing them quickly. The Dallas Cowboys are no outlier in this regard, but they are when it comes to their usual inactivity in the first wave of free agency. That has not been the case under new head coach Mike McCarthy though, who has been granted power to build the coaching staff and roster as he sees necessary. That's led his gaze to fall upon Emmanuel Sanders, a stout wide receiver who the Cowboys are now reportedly interested in signing, per Jane Slater of NFL Network, and Sanders' interest is mutual.

Sanders, a two-time Pro Bowler, is no stranger to the City of Dallas. He's a former standout of Southern Methodist University and often trains in the Metroplex during the offseason. A native of Bellville, Texas, a small town just west of Houston, Sanders is a born and bred Texan who would likely relish the opportunity to return home, having never played professional football in his home state.

A former third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010, Sanders completed his rookie contract with the Black and Yellow before joining the Denver Broncos as a free agent in 2014 on a three-year, $15 million deal. He immediately went on to garner two Pro Bowl nods with the Broncos and a Super Bowl win, as things went swimmingly into a three-year, $33 million re-up with the team in 2016. It wasn't long after things began to sour in Denver, with sweeping changes to the coaching staff and a carousel of poor quarterback play, and Sanders went on to end the 2018 season on injured reserve with a torn Achilles.

The Broncos decided to move on from a healthy Sanders amid his frustration with the team in 2019, trading him to the San Francisco 49ers. His impact in the Bay Area was felt almost immediately -- delivering a seven-catch, 112-yard outing in only his second game -- and later posted a seven-catch, 157-yard explosion in the 49ers' barn-burning upset over the New Orleans Saints in Week 14. 

That's the type of potency the Cowboys are interested on bringing in to replace Randall Cobb, who left for the Houston Texans on a three-year, $27 million deal in 2020. Sanders has multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons under his belt and even if he's not the same player who racked up 1,404 receiving yards in 2014, he's still a potentially lethal third option for Dak Prescott