Asante Samuel to the Eagles

Whether they overpaid or not, it kinda sucks that they have a pretty good corner that we have to go up against twice a year. Philly usually keeps a modest cap I believe....hopefully this keeps them from signing someone that could really hurt us like Randy Moss

He's not a shut down guy. He really isn't at a level where he totally removes a good WR from a game. I have never udnerstood the hype on him. He had a bunch of INTs but INTs are not the measure of a good corner. Champ is the best and he doesn't grab 10 a year because no one throws at him. Well obviously lots of people throw Samuels' way. That would concern me if I was paying him 9.5 mil a year. Why si everyone throwing at our 9.5 mill CB?

Paying Samuel isn't Patriots' only option at corner

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Updated: February 13, 2008


One of the big free-agent questions this offseason is whether the New England Patriots will be able to keep cornerback Asante Samuel (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6456). Samuel's presumedly high price tag will certainly have a lot to do with the Patriots' decision. There are a number of reasons to think that Samuel has a lot of negotiating leverage.


First, he is a young player on a defense that is starting to get very long in the tooth in a lot of places; five players who started on New England's defense last season will be on the wrong side of 30 at the beginning of the 2008 season. Second, the Patriots' other starting cornerback, Ellis Hobbs (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7260), gave up 9.6 yards per pass attempt last season, and he may have to be replaced as well. There are also more than a few teams that have ample cap space to make a run at Samuel.


Asante Samuel (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6456)

http://assets.espn.go.com/i/nfl/profiles/players/mugs/65x90/4578.jpg Cornerback
New England Patriots
Profile (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6456)

Even with all of these factors on Samuel's side, he might not get a Nate Clements (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5468)-like offer from the Pats. (The San Francisco 49ers gave Clements an eight-year, $80 million contract that included $22 million in 2007.)

Samuel's 41.3 success percentage -- the percentage of plays a player does something successful with the ball -- and 7.4 YPA last season were both steps back from his 2006 totals in those categories (7.0 YPA and 48.8 success percentage). His six interceptions were also down from 2006, when he posted career high of 10, and three of his 2007 picks came against backup quarterbacks. Samuel's drop of the potential game-winning interception in Super Bowl XLII also didn't help his cause. To put this another way, Samuel's starting spot in last Sunday's Pro Bowl looks more like it was granted on his 2006 performance than his 2007 numbers and suggests he might be worthy of a place on my annual overrated players list.

If those factors weren't enough to give the Patriots pause, there are some compelling alternate options to Samuel on the free-agent market. The first of these players is already on New England's roster, nickel cornerback Randall Gay (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7028).

Gay had a superb 5.8 YPA last season and allowed zero completions on the seven vertical passes thrown his way. Those numbers indicate he has the potential to be a starter. Gay is almost certain to garner a lot of interest on the market, but he will not be priced at the elite cornerback level. He would not cost the Patriots anywhere near as much as Samuel and could potentially give them equal coverage value.


A higher-priced option whom the Patriots' brain trust could pursue is Marcus Trufant (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6347). Trufant isn't always mentioned as being in Samuel's neighborhood as a shutdown cornerback, but his 2007 metrics indicate he should be:

The concern about Trufant would be that his 2007 performance might be a result of playing in a contract year. I mention this because he hasn't performed as well in previous seasons. For example, in 2006 he allowed 9.0 YPA and had a success level of only 36.4 percent. Patriots coach Bill Belichick has worked wonders with up-and-down players in the past, however. Therefore, Trufant's inconsistency might not be as big of a concern for New England as it would be for many other teams.


What it all may come down to for Samuel is whether Nnamdi Asomugha (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6367) and Trufant are slapped with the franchise tag. If they are franchised, Samuel will be the only high-profile cornerback on the market and he likely will be able to name his price with some team, be it the Patriots or someone else.

On the other hand, if Asomugha and Trufant hit the market, Samuel will be only one of three big-name defenders. In this scenario, Samuel could be viewed as the No. 3 cornerback available. As such, he might be hard-pressed to get the over-the-top contract value he has been looking forward to for the past two seasons.

KC Joyner, aka The Football Scientist, is a regular contributor to ESPN Insider.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 years, $65 million. Press conference tentatively scheduled for around 4:30p I think.



Better them than us for that cap figure.

i think the eagles are giving him 5 yrs and $47.2 mil.........we can us that coin elsewhere

He's good...but at that money, he needs to be getting double digit int's every year. The other thing you have to remember is that over the past few years, the Patriots' offense has been really pounding people...ie, more teams were throwing the ball to catch up...ie the secondary had more chances to get stats. He's coming to a division built on grind-it-out run games. He had better be able to tackle. I guess in the end, I'm really not that worried. I'm MORE worried that this will lead to a panicky reaction by the Skins front office to trump the Eagles by trading for a big named, overpaid wide receiver.

i think the eagles are giving him 5 yrs and $47.2 mil.........we can us that coin elsewhere

Yeah I think you're right. I went off a rumored number. Spoke too soon.

Welcome to the board

i think the eagles are giving him 5 yrs and $47.2 mil.........we can us that coin elsewhere

Hell, that's a bargain compared to Clements last year, right? What a deal! :)

I'm MORE worried that this will lead to a panicky reaction by the Skins front office to trump the Eagles by trading for a big named, overpaid wide receiver.

Boy, based on history...this is a good point.
But, based on recent trends, I don't think they will vary from their plan....I hope

He's good...but at that money, he needs to be getting double digit int's every year. The other thing you have to remember is that over the past few years, the Patriots' offense has been really pounding people...ie, more teams were throwing the ball to catch up...ie the secondary had more chances to get stats. He's coming to a division built on grind-it-out run games. He had better be able to tackle. I guess in the end, I'm really not that worried. I'm MORE worried that this will lead to a panicky reaction by the Skins front office to trump the Eagles by trading for a big named, overpaid wide receiver.


the nfc east is slowly moving away from being a grind it out division but he definately needs to be ready to tackle some darn good rbs

the nfc east is slowly moving away from being a grind it out division but he definately needs to be ready to tackle some darn good rbs

If he has to go against Darren McFadden then he'll be fine for two games a year.

He'll probably have a hard time against Portis/Betts, Barber, and Jacobs though.