Emmanuel Sanders only spent half of a season with the San Francisco 49ers before signing with the New Orleans Saints in free agency, but the impact he left in the Bay Area was indelible.

Fellow wide receiver Kendrick Bourne raved about Sanders, both in terms of his on-field and off-the-field leadership, per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area:

“He’s a living testament to what we want to be. Everything he does, how he acts off the field, you know it’s the proper way to do it because he’s been doing it for 11 years now. So there’s no doubt that it works.”

The 49ers acquired Sanders from the Denver Broncos just ahead of the Week 8 trade deadline. In 10 games with San Francisco, Sanders caught 36 passes for 502 yards and three touchdowns, lifting a relatively weak receiving corps and helping propel the Niners to a Super Bowl appearance.

“He was always trying to teach us, me, Deebo (Samuel) and Dante (Pettis) and us, ‘Do this. This is the better way,’ rather than keeping it to himself … He’s benefiting all of us being in the room because he’s vocal. He’s a real leader, a physical leader. He does what he’s supposed to do in all aspects. That’s how you know why he’s played this long, and why he will play another three more years.”

Sanders entered the NFL as a third-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers' back in 2010.

He spent the first four years of his career with the Steelers before joining the Broncos in 2014, where he made a pair of trips to the Pro Bowl during a five-and-a-half year stint.

The 33-year-old will face Bourne and the 49ers next season when the two teams meet in New Orleans.