A few days ago, Pittsburgh Steelers general manger Kevin Colbert said in a radio interview that while no contract extensions are currently in the works right now, there could be a few that get done between now and the start of the regular season. Whether or not wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders will be one of those players to get extended is yet to be seen, but the fourth-year wide receiver still maintains he\’s not too worried about it.
“If I am here, I am here. If I am not, I\’m not,” Sanders said recently, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I am not really worried about the business side of it. This is the one year that I have right now and I want to win a Super Bowl.”
Sanders claims he doesn\’t think about his contract situation right now after having his one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet given to him by the New England Patriots matched by the Steelers right at the deadline. He also promised that you will not see a difference in his play should he not get extended prior to the start of the season.
“I won\’t hold back because that\’s not who I am,” Sanders said via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I\’m not going to shy away from anything or try to cheat my teammates because of my selfishness.”
Whether or not the Steelers decide to extend Sanders over the course of the next few week might first come down to what they think about the future of sixth-round draft pick Justin Brown. It is pretty obvious that 2013 will more than likely be the final season in Pittsburgh for both Jerricho Cotchery and Plaxico Burress, so the Steelers need to know soon if the Oklahoma and Penn State product can be the No.3 in 2014 behind Antonio Brown and third-round draft pick Markus Wheaton. If the future doesn\’t look promising for him, they would likely have to draft another wide receiver early next year and fill in the holes with a few more low-priced free agents should a new deal with Sanders not get worked out.
The other half of the decision as to whether or not to extend Sanders will of course come down to his asking price and his agent Jordan Woy has already done his share of posturing ever since Sanders offer sheet was matched.
“It would have to be a very good deal for us to sign a multiyear agreement,” Woy said back in April.
As we sit here one month out from the start of the regular season, this could still go either way. If indeed Sanders winds up not getting extended, I certainly hope he keeps his promise of not holding back. If he does hold back, the Steelers will have big problems on offense until Wheaton is up to speed and ready to be a starter.
