Emmanuel Sanders retires as a Bronco after 12-year career

Former wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is retiring from the NFL as a member of the Denver Broncos, the team he won Super Bowl 50 with following the 2015 season.

“After 12 years in the NFL, three Super Bowl appearances, two Pro Bowls [and] one Super Bowl win, I’m ending my career as a Super Bowl champion,” Sanders said in a video posted Wednesday by the Broncos on Twitter. “It’s been a great ride.”

Sanders, 35, entered the league as a third-round pick out of SMU with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010. After four years in Pittsburgh and one trip to the Super Bowl, he then signed with the Broncos as a free agent in 2014.

Sanders went on to spend six and a half seasons in Denver, catching 404 passes for 5,361 yards and 28 touchdowns in 78 games. He totaled six catches for 83 yards in the Broncos’ 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.

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He was first selected to the Pro Bowl in 2014 when he had 1,404 receiving yards and a career-high nine receiving touchdowns. He was also named a Pro Bowler in 2016, the last season he amassed more than 1,000 receiving yards.

Denver later traded Sanders to the San Francisco 49ers midway through the 2019 season, and he reached a third Super Bowl with the Niners that year.

After that, Sanders spent one season with the New Orleans Saints in 2020, followed by a final season in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills last year. Sanders hangs up his cleats with 704 catches, 9,245 receiving yards and 51 touchdown receptions on his resume.