NFL Trade Rumors
On the surface, it’s weird to see CB Asante Samuel Jr. still available heading into July. He’s 25 years old and accumulated six interceptions and 35 pass breakups in his first three years. That sort of profile for a cornerback usually is in high demand given the league-wide scarcity at the position.
However, injuries have complicated what would otherwise be a straightforward situation. Samuel played just four games last year due to what was listed as a shoulder injury. At one point, the veteran said he had “stinger” symptoms that were worsened by contact, and that it was something he had been dealing with and likely would be dealing with for a long time. Stingers are nerve injuries, often in the shoulder and neck for football players, that cause sensations of burning, stinging, weakness and numbness.
Samuel has remained unsigned because he has not been cleared from that injury yet. He had an operation this offseason on his neck to try and correct the issue, and the latest word is that he should have a progress report in July to pass on to teams. Samuel still intends to play but getting that medical clearance will be an important step.
He’s had visits with multiple teams and if/when he’s cleared should have a healthy market with teams looking to solidify their cornerback rooms going into training camp. We have him ranked as our second-best available free agent and the top corner in a fairly solid pool for this time of year.
He’s not going to be a fit for every team, though. At 5-10 and 180 pounds, Samuel is built like a nickel corner but has only played 40 career snaps in the slot compared to almost 3,000 outside. Some of that is because he’s not a strong tackler, which is more important for slot defenders, and his injury history will be another factor warding teams away from putting him in the box.
Either way, he won’t check the boxes for what some teams want to see in their outside cornerbacks, and teams that need help at nickel likely won’t have him rated high. However, Samuel’s ball production and cover skills speak for themselves and he can be a useful player.
Samuel, 25, is the son of former NFL CB Asante Samuel and opted out of the 2020 collegiate season after eight games at Florida State. The Chargers drafted Samuel Jr. with pick No. 47 overall in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Samuel played out the final year of his four-year deal worth $7,222,944 that included a $2,613,050 signing bonus. He’s been testing the market as an unrestricted free agent.
In 2024, Samuel appeared in four games for the Chargers and recorded 13 tackles, no interceptions and two pass defenses.
We have him included in our Top 100 Available Free Agents list.
We did a post earlier this summer looking at the best landing spots for our top-ten available free agents, including Samuel. The...
