Oct 8, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of a Cincinnati Bengals helmet at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Cincinnati Bengals are preparing for their week three matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. The matchup is going to look a lot different than fans anticipated with Carson Wentz starting for Minnesota and Jake Browning starting for Cincinnati.
However, even more shocking news surfaced on Friday.
Former Bengals wide receiver suddenly retires before week three (Breaking)
Two weeks into the new NFL season, Mohamed Sanu announced his retirement from professional football:
Sanu closed a chapter on a career spanning over a decade on September 19, having played for five NFL teams.
“After 10+ years in the NFL, my playing chapter is closing,” he wrote in a tweet on Friday. “Grateful for every coach, teammate & fan. Excited to give back through coaching & share the game in a new way with the @FactsOverStats Podcast. The journey continues…”
The 36-year-old was selected by the Bengals in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft following a remarkable college career at Rutgers and would go on to earn a reputation as a versatile offensive weapon.
After 10+ years in the NFL, my playing chapter is closing. Grateful for every coach, teammate & fan. Excited to give back through coaching & share the game in a new way with the @FactsOverStats Podcast. The journey continues… 💯 pic.twitter.com/Ey4szZmJV8
— Mohamed Sanu Sr. (@Mo_12_Sanu) September 19, 2025
However, his most productive seasons came with the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he played from 2016 to 2019 and posted a career-high 838 receiving yards in 2018. A reliable possession receiver, Sanu also made a name for himself as a trick-play passer, completing eight career passes for four touchdowns.
His career took a hit after a midseason trade to the New England Patriots in 2019, with his role diminishing. After getting cut by the Pats, he had brief stints with the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, and Miami Dolphins.
Sanu did not make a regular-season appearance after the 2021 campaign and hadn’t played since the Dolphins released him in 2022.
Here is a look at Sanu’s career stats:
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | Pos | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | 1D | Succ% | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% | Y/Tgt | Att | Yds | TD | 1D | Succ% | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | Touch | Y/Tch | YScm | RRTD | Fmb | AV | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 23 | CIN | NFL | WR | 9 | 3 | 25 | 16 | 154 | 9.6 | 4 | 10 | 56.0 | 34 | 1.8 | 17.1 | 64.0 | 6.2 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 80.0 | 7 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 21 | 8.0 | 169 | 4 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 24 | CIN | NFL | WR | 16 | 14 | 77 | 47 | 455 | 9.7 | 2 | 28 | 48.1 | 32 | 2.9 | 28.4 | 61.0 | 5.9 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 | 9 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 51 | 9.2 | 471 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2014 | 25 | CIN | NFL | WR | 16 | 13 | 98 | 56 | 790 | 14.1 | 5 | 38 | 49.0 | 76 | 3.5 | 49.4 | 57.1 | 8.1 | 7 | 51 | 0 | 2 | 57.1 | 26 | 7.3 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 63 | 13.3 | 841 | 5 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2015 | 26 | CIN | NFL | WR | 16 | 4 | 49 | 33 | 394 | 11.9 | 0 | 17 | 49.0 | 52 | 2.1 | 24.6 | 67.3 | 8.0 | 10 | 71 | 2 | 4 | 70.0 | 25 | 7.1 | 4.4 | 0.6 | 43 | 10.8 | 465 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| 2016 | 27 | ATL | NFL | WR | 15 | 15 | 81 | 59 | 653 | 11.1 | 4 | 33 | 61.7 | 59 | 3.9 | 43.5 | 72.8 | 8.1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 | 5 | 5.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 60 | 11.0 | 658 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |
| 2017 | 28 | ATL | NFL | WR | 15 | 15 | 96 | 67 | 703 | 10.5 | 5 | 41 | 59.4 | 25 | 4.5 | 46.9 | 69.8 | 7.3 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 75.0 | 4 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 71 | 10.0 | 713 | 5 | 0 | 7 | |
| 2018 | 29 | ATL | NFL | WR | 16 | 16 | 94 | 66 | 838 | 12.7 | 4 | 40 | 61.7 | 44 | 4.1 | 52.4 | 70.2 | 8.9 | 7 | 44 | 0 | 5 | 71.4 | 24 | 6.3 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 73 | 12.1 | 882 | 4 | 2 | 7 | |
| 2019 | 30 | 2TM | NFL | WR | 15 | 12 | 89 | 59 | 520 | 8.8 | 2 | 30 | 48.3 | 28 | 3.9 | 34.7 | 66.3 | 5.8 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 66.7 | 8 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 62 | 8.6 | 531 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |
| 2019 | 30 | ATL | NFL | WR | 7 | 6 | 42 | 33 | 313 | 9.5 | 1 | 16 | 59.5 | 28 | 4.7 | 44.7 | 78.6 | 7.5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 50.0 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 35 | 9.0 | 316 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 30 | NWE | NFL | WR | 8 | 6 | 47 | 26 | 207 | 8.0 | 1 | 14 | 38.3 | 22 | 3.3 | 25.9 | 55.3 | 4.4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 | 8 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 27 | 8.0 | 215 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 31 | 2TM | NFL | WR | 10 | 4 | 24 | 17 | 187 | 11.0 | 1 | 13 | 66.7 | 21 | 1.7 | 18.7 | 70.8 | 7.8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 100.0 | 3 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 18 | 10.6 | 190 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 31 | SFO | NFL | WR | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 1 | 100.0 | 9 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 100.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2020 | 31 | DET | NFL | WR | 7 | 4 | 23 | 16 | 178 | 11.1 | 1 | 12 | 65.2 | 21 | 2.3 | 25.4 | 69.6 | 7.7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 100.0 | 3 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 17 | 10.6 | 181 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 32 | SFO | NFL | WR | 8 | 0 | 24 | 15 | 177 | 11.8 | 0 | 12 | 54.2 | 21 | 1.9 | 22.1 | 62.5 | 7.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 15 | 11.8 | 177 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| 10 Yrs | 136 | 96 | 657 | 435 | 4871 | 11.2 | 27 | 262 | 54.8 | 76 | 3.2 | 35.8 | 66.2 | 7.4 | 42 | 226 | 2 | 18 | 69.0 | 26 | 5.4 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 477 | 10.7 | 5097 | 29 | 6 | 49 | |||||
| 17 Game Avg | 17 | 12 | 82 | 54 | 609 | 11.2 | 3 | 33 | 54.8 | 76 | 3.2 | 35.8 | 66.2 | 7.4 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 69.0 | 26 | 5.4 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 60 | 10.7 | 637 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||
| CIN (4 Yrs) | 57 | 34 | 249 | 152 | 1793 | 11.8 | 11 | 93 | 49.4 | 76 | 2.7 | 31.5 | 61.0 | 7.2 | 26 | 153 | 2 | 8 | 65.4 | 26 | 5.9 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 178 | 10.9 | 1946 | 13 | 3 | 19 | |||||
| ATL (4 Yrs) | 53 | 52 | 313 | 225 | 2507 | 11.1 | 14 | 130 | 60.7 | 59 | 4.2 | 47.3 | 71.9 | 8.0 | 14 | 62 | 0 | 9 | 71.4 | 24 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 239 | 10.7 | 2569 | 14 | 3 | 24 | |||||
| SFO (2 Yrs) | 11 | 0 | 25 | 16 | 186 | 11.6 | 0 | 13 | 56.0 | 21 | 1.5 | 16.9 | 64.0 | 7.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 16 | 11.6 | 186 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
| NWE (1 Yr) | 8 | 6 | 47 | 26 | 207 | 8.0 | 1 | 14 | 38.3 | 22 | 3.3 | 25.9 | 55.3 | 4.4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 | 8 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 27 | 8.0 | 215 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| DET (1 Yr) | 7 | 4 | 23 | 16 | 178 | 11.1 | 1 | 12 | 65.2 | 21 | 2.3 | 25.4 | 69.6 | 7.7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 100.0 | 3 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 17 | 10.6 | 181 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||||
