It pays to be a free agent wide receiver in 2016.
A day after Marvin Jonesagreed to a 5-year, $40 million deal with the Detroit Lions, his former Bengals teammate, Mohamed Sanu, agreed to a five-year deal worth $32.5 million with the Atlanta Falcons, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reports, per a source involved in the deal.
The team later confirmed the deal.
Teams flush with cap space, a deep need at the receiver position and few free agent options led to big-money deals for second-tier talents.
Sanu is an athletic pass-catcher and gadget-player who can run the ball and has completed all five pass attempts of his career.
The 6-foot-2 receiver's best season came in 2014, when he caught 56 passes for 790 yards and five touchdowns in 13 starts -- Jones missed the entire season. In 2015 Sanu started four games and caught 33 passes for 894 yards with zero scores.
Sanu can be an upgrade on the recently cut Roddy White in Atlanta, but during his four seasons in Cincinnati, the 26-year-old disappeared for long stretched and suffered from bouts of drops. He's best suited for a role as a No. 3 wideout, but will be paid like at high-end No. 2 player.
The commitment might be steep, but the Falcons needed an upgrade at the position and added one of the top options on the market. Sanu should see plenty of action alongside Julio Jones in Kyle Shanahan's offense.
