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Three free agent visits is a lot for a player. So is four. Former Steelers WR Emmanuel Sanders is in Kansas City for his third visit and has a fourth planned in San Francisco today. When I saw that Sanders had been visiting multiple teams without signing I thought there were two options: There is a medical issue we don't know about or he's asking for a lot of money. Turns out, it's a little bit of both.
Here's what we know about Sanders right now: He's in Kansas City visiting the Chiefs. He arrived on Friday afternoon, planned to stay the night and has a visit with San Francisco at some point today, according to the KC Star's Terez Paylor.
There are medical concerns, according to Scott Brown of ESPN.com, who reports Sanders has a screw in each foot from injuries in the 2010 Super Bowl. I'm not sure of any other details. Injuries are always a concern, especially with long-term contracts. That the Steelers haven't paid him should give you some pause. The Steelers historically are wise in those decisions.
As for the money, Sanders is looking for the deal I thought he would be -- Golden Tate's deal. This according to ESPN.com. Earlier this week, Tate signed a 5-year, $31 million deal with $13 million guaranteed. Tate and Sanders are comparable in their position and their experience so that deal looks like a good place to start. With Sanders injury history I wouldn't expect the numbers to reach that high. The contract would have to protect the team in the event of injury.
That two teams who were flush with cash -- Jaguars and Bucs -- passed on him also gives me pause.
What's interesting is that the Chiefs already have one of the highest cap numbers in their group of receivers, largely due to Dwayne Bowe. So would signing Sanders mean Donnie Avery's spot is not safe? Is AJ Jenkins ready to step up and replace him? Plenty of questions to come.
The Chiefs were said to have a little over $7 million in cap space before they signed DT Vance Walker on Friday night. The Star's Terez Paylor did not expect Walker's signing to have an effect on Sanders.
Read up on all the Chiefs free agency rumors here.