The Cowboys should reach out to Emmanuel Sanders after Washington injury

The Dallas Cowboys are the personification of Murphy’s Law. If It can go wrong, it will go wrong.

Well, that’s typically been the nature of business for the last decade and things haven’t gotten a ton better. In the latest example, one of their newest offseason signees, receiver James Washington, won’t get to make his Cowboys debut until late October, at the very earliest.

It’s time to hit the panic button, whether Jerry Jones wants to admit it or not, and the Cowboys don’t have a ton of options in terms of replacing Washington. They could elevate someone from a lower level, a fringe guy that wouldn’t have made the team, a guy they planned to sign as a practice squad player, or a guy that was a little lower on the depth chart. They could stand pat and do nothing, but that wouldn’t be smart, one would assume.

The last option is the one that probably makes the most sense.

They could go and add another guy to help offset Washington’s absence. And while there are a few veteran options out there, I believe the one that most fits their immediate needs at this moment is none other than WR Emmanuel Sanders.

Here’s why the Dallas Cowboys should sign Emmanuel Sanders to replace James Washington

Sanders, who is 35 years old at this point, is coming off a decent year with the Buffalo Bills. Starting in 13 games and playing in 14 for Buffalo last season, Sanders tallied 42 receptions for 626 yards.

Though he only averaged 44.7 receiving yards per game last season year, his production was impressive considering he was competing for targets with Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley, Dawson Knox, and Gabriel Davis.

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Generally, it still says that Sanders has something to offer, even at 35 years old. The specifics of it all are why he should be the guy if they choose to add to that group and over guys like Will Fuller or Odell Beckam Jr.

For starters, Sanders has played 11 or more games in every season of his 12-year NFL career. In every season except one, his second in 2011, Sanders has played at least 12 games a season.

Though his 58.3 percent catch rate last season was below his career average of 62 percent, you can assume that’s the anomaly and not the norm, as he has been around 68 percent or higher in his last five seasons.

So, it all boils down to this. Not only will Sanders, likely, be one of the more cost-efficient options out there, but he is also probably the most dependable at this point, from a hands and availability on gameday perspective.

He can come in and give you a lot of the same things that Washington may have been able to, as he is of a similar mold of wideout and was birthed in the same Pittsburg Steelers system. Sanders is also a title-winning vet, so on top of what he adds from a production standpoint, he should be good to have in the building around all of that other young talent.

And if all else fails, Cole Beasley wouldn’t be a bad guy to bring back either, considering he already said he’d be interested in playing with Dak Prescott again. But that’s another chat to be had.