Emmanuel Sanders shares disturbing story about Steelers GM

[hawaiiansteeler]

Emmanuel Sanders shares disturbing story about Steelers GM

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Vincent Frank | Last updated 3/22/19

Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders has previously opened up about the drama that surrounded former teammates, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Sanders spent four seasons in Pittsburgh after the team selected him in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. All four of those seasons were spent with Big Ben and Brown in Pittsburgh.

In talking about his contract negotiations with Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert back in 2014, Sanders had a rather interesting story to share, via 104.3 The Fan:

“The Steelers offered me a crappy deal. They offered me three years, $9 million, $1 million guaranteed. ... I went into Colbert’s office and I told him I don’t want to take the deal. He looks at me, and he goes, ‘who do you think you are, Antonio Brown?’ ... I wanted to say F you, but I got up and told him I’ll never forget that.”

to read rest of article:

https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/artic...12680_28695542

[BlackAndGold]

Ouch.

[Bluecoat96]

So ...this is a non story. Talk about a click bait title. I wouldn't exactly call Colbert's comment disturbing.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[stillers4me]

why are we giving oxygen to this crap?

[fansince'76]

I wouldn't exactly call Colbert's comment disturbing.

Me neither.

Sanders' career in Pittsburgh, in a nutshell:

[teegre]

If we had a microphone inside of NFL team facilities, this would be in the lower third of scathing comments.

#nonissue

[AtlantaDan]

Apparently Sanders' latest recollection of his contract negotiations with Colbert does not have the advantage of being true if this Bouchette tweet from that time is true

I recall it was assumed the Steelers, who were in cap hell at the time, were not going to try to keep Sanders and take their chances with Wheaton, who was on his rookie deal

[86WARD]

Apparently Sanders' latest recollection of his contract negotiations with Colbert does not have the advantage of being true if this Bouchette tweet from that time is true

I recall it was assumed the Steelers, who were in cap hell at the time, were not going to try to keep Sanders and take their chances with Wheaton on his rookie deal

Just because the matched that doesn’t mean they didn’t try to make him an offer at some point...not sure if they did or didn’t but I recall they also offered an original third round tender. He was restricted at the time and that was around $1.5M?

Whether all these comments and distractions are true or not, where there’s smoke there’s fire...I’m pretty confident something, somewhere along the line here in the front office is fucked up...it’s just a matter of what level “fucked up” it is...

[Born2Steel]

This article is most likely 99% fabricated.

[AtlantaDan]

Just because the matched that doesn’t mean they didn’t try to make him an offer at some point...not sure if they did or didn’t but I recall they also offered an original third round tender. He was restricted at the time and that was around $1.5M?

Whether all these comments and distractions are true or not, where there’s smoke there’s fire...I’m pretty confident something, somewhere along the line here in the front office is fucked up...it’s just a matter of what level “fucked up” it is...

Anything is possible but given the Steelers cap situation at the time I doubt it

Steelers under Colbert traditionally have operated under a model of having X number of $$$ they were going to put in the WR bucket (sign Ward so Burress walks/cannot sign Wallace and immediately sign AB to his first big contract, which no doubt pissed Sanders off) so it would have been unusual for them to overload $$$ on the WR position by trying to keep Sanders - since this is not baseball with no salary cap nothing fucked up about that

Sanders seems to have had a beef about his time with the Steelers after Steelers stopped him from going to the Pats as a RFA in 2013 and they gave AB rather than Sanders the big deal in 2012. His comments about Peyton being a better leader than Ben and this bitching about an alleged contract negotiation 5 years ago, which I do not recall ever having been raised until now, reflect that

[zulater]

Me neither.

Sanders' career in Pittsburgh, in a nutshell:

Between injuries and drops he really never got it all together with the Steelers.

[FrancoLambert]

Big deal.
Colbert stated the truth.
Sanders < AB

[DesertSteel]

That was disturbing. I’m glad my children were in the room when I read that.

[tube517]

[Born2Steel]

I like the part where the Steelers are in a “tailspin” after losing AB and Bell.

So basically Sanders would have stayed in Pittsburgh for another $2M a season over Colbert’s offer. That IS disturbing.

[st33lersguy]

Is this even real or is this just piling on. How convenient this was released now and not when it first occurred years ago

[steel striker]

Sanders is not in the same league as AB and, while he was in the Burgh he drop a lot of passes.

[TD's & Beer]

If all these whiny bitches running their mouths don't light a fire under Ben's ass nothing will, lol

[Mojouw]

Anything is possible but given the Steelers cap situation at the time I doubt it

Steelers under Colbert traditionally have operated under a model of having X number of $$$ they were going to put in the WR bucket (sign Ward so Burress walks/cannot sign Wallace and immediately sign AB to his first big contract, which no doubt pissed Sanders off) so it would have been unusual for them to overload $$$ on the WR position by trying to keep Sanders - since this is not baseball with no salary cap nothing fucked up about that

Sanders seems to have had a beef about his time with the Steelers after Steelers stopped him from going to the Pats as a RFA in 2013 and they gave AB rather than Sanders the big deal in 2012. His comments about Peyton being a better leader than Ben and this bitching about an alleged contract negotiation 5 years ago, which I do not recall ever having been raised until now, reflect that

The moment that AB signed that first big deal, the team was never keeping Sanders. Not only is it the amount of cap money devoted to one position, but once the Steelers picked AB, paying Sanders made no sense. He plays the same position and style of WR. You can't pay two guys to run as the X in the same offense.

Even with all of Sanders' success in Denver, he isn't as good as AB. They chose properly and correctly. That is the part of this story that isn't being thought through right now, by Sanders or anyone else. And since the point is a bit subtle and nuanced, it will never be properly considered.

This would be like 3 years from now having Shaq Barrett and/or Shane Ray emerge as 8-9 sack a year pass rushers, while Miller and Chubb are still both posting 10-12+ a year and just savaging the Broncos for letting the two go. They were buried on the depth chart and had little role in the defense. That is how this works. Same idea with Sanders. Once they chose AB as the #1 WR, Sanders was a slightly to significantly worse downgrade of the exact same role. So they chose to get a cheaper guy to do that (Wheaton) and search for other WRs that could do different things to round out the group. If Colbert said stupid and mean things to Sanders along the way -- great?! Who cares? Sanders was never an important part of the plan. That would be why (assume this is all true) offered him a lopsided team friendly deal.

Honestly, when Sanders left it was little more than like Jesse James leaving this off-season. Sad to see a talented guy go. Understood why - the money and role was better somewhere else. Not sure in either case the team will skip a beat.

[Born2Steel]

The Jesse James comparison is spot on.

[DesertSteel]

As to Colbert, honestly the guy has the finesse of a college sophomore. He’s a glorified scout (apparently good with WRs), but not an executive.

[AtlantaDan]

As to Colbert, honestly the guy has the finesse of a college sophomore. He’s a glorified scout (apparently good with WRs), but not an executive.

Colbert took over from Tom Donohoe in 2000

Most NFL wins through 2000-2017

Patriots – 241
Steelers - 203
Colts – 192
Packers – 190
Eagles – 185

https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh...115115594/Amp/

Since Tomlin cannot coach and Colbert can only draft WRs, the front offices and coaching staffs of the rest of the league other than the Patriots must be throwing games and tanking their drafts. This long term record could not be related to any minimal competence on the part of Colbert

[hawaiiansteeler]

say what you want but Sanders turned out to be a very good WR in Denver.

[DesertSteel]

Colbert took over from Tom Donohoe in 2000

Most NFL wins through 2000-2017

Patriots – 241
Steelers - 203
Colts – 192
Packers – 190
Eagles – 185

https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh...115115594/Amp/

Since Tomlin cannot coach and Colbert can only draft WRs, the front offices and coaching staffs of the rest of the league other than the Patriots must be throwing games and tanking their drafts. This long term record could not be related to any minimal competence on the part of Colbert

None of that spoke to my point.

[steelreserve]

Colbert took over from Tom Donohoe in 2000

Most NFL wins through 2000-2017

Patriots – 241
Steelers - 203
Colts – 192
Packers – 190
Eagles – 185

https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh...115115594/Amp/

Since Tomlin cannot coach and Colbert can only draft WRs, the front offices and coaching staffs of the rest of the league other than the Patriots must be throwing games and tanking their drafts. This long term record could not be related to any minimal competence on the part of Colbert

That top-5 list is pretty much "who has had a franchise QB for the most consecutive years since 2000" ... I guess you could argue that the Eagles had kind of Tier-1A guys for most of that time, but never anyone who flat-out sucked. If anything, they're an example of how good coaching and a well-run organization can help you overcome not always having the best blue-chip talent.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Colbert is the problem here, it's a couple of specific coaching issues with player development and multiple people not having a clue what is going on on the defensive side of the ball.

But as far as overall wins, you have a HUGE advantage having a star QB for almost your entire tenure (TOMLIN DOES ALSO), and even the few years before that, Colbert had a winning team with a loaded defense when he started the job. That statistic doesn't say a whole lot to me in this case.

[AtlantaDan]

None of that spoke to my point.

I thought this was your point

As to Colbert, honestly the guy has the finesse of a college sophomore. He’s a glorified scout (apparently good with WRs), but not an executive.

Executives are measured by results, not their appearance (e.g. - Bill Gates was and is a geek but became the richest man in the world as the head of Microsoft)

I know everyone comes up with a different reason for the excellent record(it was Dan Rooney, it was Ben since the other 21 starters on the roster barely count), but if Colbert was just a glorified scout the Steelers probably would have been more like other Rust belt teams like the Bills and Browns over the past two decades

[Fire Goodell]

Sanders is still butthurt that we didn't pony up and pay him. As much as I liked the kid, he comes off as a douche sometimes

It was either him or AB, and Colbert was right, he ain't no AB.

[DesertSteel]

I thought this was your point



Executives are measured by results, not their appearance (e.g. - Bill Gates was and is a geek but became the richest man in the world as the head of Microsoft)

I know everyone comes up with a different reason for the excellent record(it was Dan Rooney, it was Ben since the other 21 starters on the roster barely count), but if Colbert was just a glorified scout the Steelers probably would have been more like other Rust belt teams like the Bills and Browns over the past two decades

My only point was that Colbert has no sophistication. It is what it is. He doesn’t belong in front of a microphone and I shudder when I hear his quotes. I wasn’t making a judgment call on his won loss record.

[pczach]

Colbert took over from Tom Donohoe in 2000

Most NFL wins through 2000-2017

Patriots – 241
Steelers - 203
Colts – 192
Packers – 190
Eagles – 185

https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburgh...115115594/Amp/

Since Tomlin cannot coach and Colbert can only draft WRs, the front offices and coaching staffs of the rest of the league other than the Patriots must be throwing games and tanking their drafts. This long term record could not be related to any minimal competence on the part of Colbert

One disappointing season, and everything that anyone has ever done well is completely ignored and slandered by the mob......

[pczach]

As to Colbert, honestly the guy has the finesse of a college sophomore. He’s a glorified scout (apparently good with WRs), but not an executive.

You're calling him a glorified scout. That implies that he shouldn't be an executive, and he should still be a scout.

You say he's "apparently good with WR's". That implies that he's only good at evaluating WR's and sucks at evaluating everything else...…..and he has been the GM of the franchise with the second best won/loss record in the NFL since 2000 and an 18-year span.

I don't understand how you can think that your comments don't question his ability as a GM. Maybe you didn't intend it, but the words you used and how you used them do exactly that.

I'm not coming at you. I'm simply explaining what your words say to us.