John Elway: Emmanuel Sanders had issues, and we had issues – NBC Sports – NFL, Nbcsports.com

Only 11 days ago Broncos General Manager John Elway insisted the team had no players on the trading block. On Tuesday, Denver traded receiverEmmanuel Sandersand a 2020 fifth-round draft choice to the 49 ers in exchange for 2020 third- and fourth-round selections.

So what changed?

“I think eventually with what happened after the Tennessee game [a 16-0 victory] and where we were and with the value we were getting for him, we decided it was the best thing for our team to trade Emmanuel, ”Elway said in a news conference Tuesday.

He would not elaborate.

Sanders had three targets, one catch and no yards in the win over the Titans. Ruled out for the second half with a knee injury, Sanders played only 25 of 60 snaps.

Then, the Broncos were blown out by the Chiefs in a Thursday night game.

Elway confirmed Sanders requested a trade. Five teamsshowed serious interestin Sanders, according to Nicki Jhabvala of TheAthletic.com.

“When we looked at it, Emmanuel had issues and we had issues,” Elway said. “That is why it was a good time for us to go different directions – for Emmanuel to go in a different direction and for us to go in a different direction. With that being said, we were able to get the value that we thought was fair. That is why we decided to make the deal. ”

Sanders leaves Denver seventh in career catches (404), 10 th in receiving yards (4, 994) and fourth in total 100 – yard receiving games (19). But he had only 10 targets, seven catches, 69 yards and no touchdowns the past three games.

“He did a nice job for us,” Elway said. “Emmanuel had a lot of catches and played hard. He was a competitive guy. He did a good job while he was here. We thought it was the best move again for us as well as for Emmanuel. Emmanuel was very good for the 5 1/2 years that he was here. ”