Schlereth: Sanders likely doesn’t believe in Broncos offensive rebuild

Denver Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, in response to a tweet by 104.3 The Fan asking if the team should ask him to restructure his contract, balked at the idea of changing his current deal, saying, “It ain’t happening. No way Jose.”

On Wednesday, “Schlereth and Evans” co-host Mark Schlereth said that while there may be a variety of explanations why Sanders would take such a hard line — he’ll be back from an Achilles injury suffered late last season or his numbers speak for themselves — it’s likely the wide receiver just doesn’t have faith in the Broncos ability to rebuild its offense.

“But the underlining message, to me, is I don’t believe you’re going to fix it,” Schlereth said, adding, “We’re not a playoff … we’re not close to a playoff offense. Why would I want to stick around here and take a pay cut to be a part of a rebuilding process that I don’t believe in?”

Schlereth said he agreed with Sanders, that he should not take a pay cut or restructure his deal, because there will be a market for him and he could potentially restructure elsewhere with a team more suited for a deep playoff run.

“ … At 32 you start to think about, hey, I made a lot of money. I’d like to have a ring on my finger. I’d like to go somewhere where I can put that ring on my finger,” Schlereth said. “Shoot, you’re not going to do it here. Not next year. Maybe not the year after.”

Even with the addition of Joe Flacco at quarterback, Schlereth said the Broncos are still the third-best team in the AFC West behind the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs.

And, in the end, Schlereth believes that Sanders more likely than not will be wearing another uniform next season.

“I don’t think he’s going to be playing here. I think when push comes to shove, next year he’ll be somewhere else,” Schlereth said.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.