What does Emmanuel Sanders future with the Broncos now look like?

Heading into the offseason, the prospect of Emmanuel Sanders and the Denver Broncos parting ways seemed like a possibility.

But in light a report Thursday saying the wide receiver had been investigated — and eventually cleared by a grand jury — regarding a sexual assault claim in Harris County, Texas, some have called into question Sanders’ future in Denver.

First reported by TMZ.com, Sanders had been the focus of a felony sexual assault investigation in Harris County, which encompasses Houston — where the Broncos receiver has a home — and much of the surrounding area.

According to a statement from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, authorities received a complaint about Sanders on June 15, it was “thoroughly investigated,” and the results were turned over to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

The office then presented the case to a grand jury, who determined on Jan. 9 that there was “insufficient evidence to support a criminal charge” against Sanders, the statement said.

However, an NFL spokesperson told ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold the report would be “under review” by the league.

“I don’t know how the league is not going to investigate further,” said Mike Pritchard, co-host of “Pritchard and Cecil,” on Thursday. “They’re not just going to close their eyes and turn their backs to this. So, that’s what’s in front of this situation.”

“(They’re) not going to proceed in a criminal case, certainly, but in the case of public opinion, in the case of public relations, in the case of marketing yourself, in the case of valuing your franchise, and, certainly, what you are what your consumers want to see out there, this all looks different now.”

Pritchard’s co-host, Fan Football Insider Cecil Lammey, said the revelations Thursday likely didn’t change Sanders’ future with the Broncos, but rather how they “get rid of him.”

“I believe that he was not a lock for the 2018 roster, and however painful it may be to eat $6 million in dead money for a team that doesn’t have hardly any dead money,” Lammey said, “… this Sanders contract is market value, but for the Broncos right now, in this situation, it’s a bad deal because of that dead money.”

According to Spotrac.com, $6.9 million of Sanders’ 2018 salary becomes fully guaranteed on March 18, and the wide receiver will have a cap hit of $10.9 million next season with a dead cap of $5.3 million.

“That dead money, teams are already going have to look at say, ‘We want to take on that contract and maybe restructure once he’s here,’” Lammey said. “Now, teams look at that and say, ‘And there might be a suspension? No, thanks.’”

What could have potentially been a deal in which the Broncos traded Sanders for a fourth-round pick now, Lammey said, could be shipping off the receiver for a seventh-rounder.

Check back to denversports.com and tune in to 104.3 The Fan for the latest as this story develops.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.