Bengals' former 3rd-round pick retires after 10 seasons in the NFL

Billy Heyen

Bengals' former 3rd-round pick retires after 10 seasons in the NFL image

After a long career and a couple years of contemplating what to do next, Mohamed Sanu has decided to hang up his cleats.

The veteran wide receiver hadn't suited up for regular season action since 2021, but he made his decision official Friday with a post on social media announcing his retirement.

"After 10+ years in the NFL, my playing chapter is closing," Sanu wrote on X. "Grateful for every coach, teammate & fan."

Sanu was originally a third-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012 out of Rutgers. 

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He spent his first four NFL seasons with the Bengals.

His best of the four came in 2014, when he had 56 catches for 790 yards and five touchdowns. With Cincy overall, Sanu had 152 catches for 1,793 yards and 11 TDs.

From there, Sanu went on to play four seasons for the Atlanta Falcons, the team he found the most success with.

Sanu put up 225 catches for 2,507 yards and 14 touchdowns in Atlanta, including seasons of 838, 703 and 653 yards.

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He then made stops with the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions.

Sanu's last regular season action came in 2021 for the 49ers, for whom he had 15 catches for 177 yards.

He was with the Miami Dolphins in the 2022 preseason but released, and hasn't been with an NFL team since.

Now 36, Sanu wrote in his social media post that he is getting into coaching and working on a podcast.

It's just the next step in his football journey.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle