Could Falcons work a deal for Asante Samuel?
Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel would be nice addition to Falcons defense. (AP photo)
The Falcons’ signing of defensive end Ray Edwards last week should improve a defense that too often has come up short in two areas: pass rush and pass coverage. The question now is whether they can improve coverage, and that’s why I’m bringing up this name: Asante Samuel.
Several fans have emailed me (and Barrister Ledbetter) to ask about Asante. Here’s what I can tell you: The Falcons would love him but I just don’t know that a deal is feasible.
Asante is 30, but he has gone to the Pro Bowl the last four years. He’s also available. Philadelphia’s signing of free agent Nnamdi Asomugha and acquisition of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie leaves Samuel expendable. The Eagles are hoping to trade him.
The cornerback job on the opposite side of Dunta Robinson currently is manned by restricted free agent Brent Grimes, who has yet to sign his contract tender (and isn’t at Samuel’s level anyway). It’s also worth noting that Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff was in New England when Samuel was drafted in 2003.
Here’s the problem: Even if the Falcons trimmed salary elsewhere on the roster and somehow found a way to fit Samuel under the cap — his contract pays $8.4 million this season and $10.4 million next year — they don’t have anything to trade. Their 2012 first- and fourth-round picks next season went to Cleveland in the Julio Jones trade. If they traded their second- and/or third-rounder, they wouldn’t have a draft left.
Therefore the only realistic hope of the Falcons getting Samuel would be if Philadelphia was unable to spin a trade and simply released him for salary cap relief. That isn’t likely to happen. Then again, NFL general managers value their draft picks and only a few teams will be in the market to take on Samuel’s salary.
But if he is released, don’t be surprised if the Falcons swoop in.
By Jeff Schultz
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109 comments Add your comment
Jerry is Crazy
August 2nd, 2011
2:17 pm
Dumbest comment of the day Jerry! You clearly know nothing about football.
Snelling isnt good enough to hold up turners jock strap much less carry the team as starting RB.
And Chase- Writing for AJC is a bigger accomplishment than writing for ESPN. ESPN is worse than the regular news following a murder. ESPN beats to death every story. Most of their analyst are barely qaulified to commentate on girls basketball. Hence why MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA all have their own TV channels to rid themselves of the idiots at ESPN.
But Shultzie calling the lugo call the worst in sports history makes me think your more qualified for ESPN or Yahoo Sports than AJC. That was by far your worst article and made you look like an absolute fool to most readers.
Andrew
August 2nd, 2011
2:23 pm
Released? Have you literally gone insane? The Eagles have plenty of room under the cap and will save a huge chunk when they extend Vick’s contract from. Franchise tag to a longer term deal. You don’t release a guy who, last year, was your best defensive player and a leader on and off the field. The idea of it is absolutely insane.
JASon
August 2nd, 2011
2:25 pm
I do wonder if there is going to be a huge dropoff this year for both Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez. I wonder if its not a good time to trade both.
jerry
August 2nd, 2011
2:25 pm
headley lamar ….And ill take Gonzalez Grimes and Turner and beat you 9 out of 10.
At home vs the Packers, NFC playoffs. Your bunch: 21-48 losers and it wasn’t that close.
Plenty of Trade Bait to go Around | Sports News. By Bums Like You.
August 2nd, 2011
2:30 pm
[...] “I want to be where I’m wanted.” Plenty of teams should want him too. The Falcons may make a run for him. The Cardinals, who dealt away Rodgers-Cromartie and missed on Asumugha could be [...]
jerry
August 2nd, 2011
2:32 pm
2:17 pm
“Snelling isnt good enough to hold up turners jock strap much less carry the team as starting RB.”
After watching film of Michael Turner, Scouts Inc.’s Matt Williams sees “a back whose best days might already be behind him.”Turner averaged just 3.58 YPC against a string of mediocre run defenses in the final five games of last season, showing a lack of burst and explosion. As Williamson suggests, Turner’s “arrow is going down” at age 29 after leading the NFL in carries in two of the past three seasons. Signs point to the Falcons opening up the offense under Matt Ryan, decreasing the rushing attempts. Turner is no longer a first-round fantasy pick.
I’m not the only one.
HardTruth Soldier
August 2nd, 2011
2:33 pm
This is a win now league, with the new CBA, Players get what they can. Atlanta needs to do what they can to win now. There is no tomorrow in the league without winning now. We need to start a traditions. By any means necessary bring a championship to this city. The South is football and football is King in the South. Who now baby.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 2nd, 2011
2:40 pm
SalPal from ESPN reported Samuels had 36 passes thrown his direction last year, 7 off them he picked off. That is worth giving up a draft pick. The man is a ball hawk.
Logan Walker
August 2nd, 2011
2:41 pm
Personally, I don’t want any player with ego problems. I would have rather us relied on Bierman and the rookies than to sign Ray Edwards like we did because Edwards seems to have that “me first/I’m so great” attitude. And as a die-hard Falcons fan, I love Grimes. He was electric last season and definitely an underrated player. There aren’t many players in the league that would have come out as good as he did if they were targeted the same number of times. It will be interesting to see if teams this season start throwing to Robinson’s side more now that they know Brent can make plays.
HardTruth Soldier
August 2nd, 2011
2:45 pm
The problem with this team is in the defensive line. Anderson was a bust, Jerry is suspect, and Peters being a fourth round pick is the best interior linemen. Real simple get a dominant Tackle and you got teams respecting you against the run. Check the stat’s. Out of all the teams that won there division last year Atlanta’s D line gave up more against the run then any other playoff team. Samuels would be great to have,but along with Edwards they should’ve gotten some interior help in the middle.
jerry
August 2nd, 2011
2:48 pm
Grimes underrated? Didn’t he make the Pro Bowl, although as an alternate.
James
August 2nd, 2011
2:50 pm
Yes they should work a deal for Asante Samuel and trade the fist round pick for next year to the Giants for Osi Umenyiora.
Kem
August 2nd, 2011
2:52 pm
All of you who say Samuels has an ego problem and is not a “team player”……………how do you know? Have you been in the locker room with him?
B DAT
August 2nd, 2011
2:57 pm
No Asante no giving up more picks, and I want to campaign for no Larry Parrish. Heyward has the ugliest swing in baseball(including pitchers).
Fish Bisch
August 2nd, 2011
2:57 pm
I just read the tweets from Brent Grime’s Wife Mikko. She really laid into the Bedwetter today. LOL funny stuff!
Fish Bisch
August 2nd, 2011
2:59 pm
http://twitter.com/#!/iHeartMiko/status/98453682798071808
DK
August 2nd, 2011
3:01 pm
@jerry
You go ahead and judge the season on the basis of one game. I’ll judge it on the strength of the entire season. The team went 13-4. All 4 of the losses came against playoff teams (including the two Super Bowl teams) and the two of those four teams we played twice, we split the series with both of them. As for Turner being used less, of course that’s the plan as everybody that knows anything about football will tell you that Turner has been given too much of the load in years past and it’s obvious that the team has been working on balancing the offensive attack.
The thing that makes me smile now is thinking of all of you Falcon haters that thought last year was painful, wait till this year; a young team built mostly through the draft retaining almost every starter that they wanted to keep while the young talent gets a year better. Add picking up a second killer for the DE position and a second Roddy White for the offense. I’d suggest that you stock up on valium now because I suspect you’re going to need it when the Falcons glide into SB XLVI.
Terrell
August 2nd, 2011
3:03 pm
Runner-
Go back and watch Asante last year. He is a high risk high reward player. For every big play he made he also gave one up. You knock Grimes and call him overrated for doing the exact same thing. Teams attacked him all game and he stepped up all game.
ted williams head
So you would sign right away or would you wait till the last day possible? How come you aren’t mad at Snelling? He could say I want to come here below his market value, but he is waiting to see who will take him.
willieg hates bill shanks
August 2nd, 2011
3:04 pm
get samuels from philly no matter what.
willieg hates bill shanks
August 2nd, 2011
3:06 pm
arthur blank GET SAMUELS TODAY., OR OSI FROM THE GIANTS AND GET A KICKER NOW .
Dumbo
August 2nd, 2011
3:08 pm
it would be bettter if…. Atlanta wouldn’t be better off with the conVICK, this town ain’t big enough for conVICK and his brother Mucus
PMC
August 2nd, 2011
3:18 pm
Hi everyone, if they do wind up trading Samuel, which would be silly considering he’s affordable for them this year, it’s going to be for a kings ransome. We have no ransome to pay for said Asante Samuel which was essentially written in the above article.
That said, the Eagles would be crazy to trade Samuel. It’s not happening. Why trade from a position of strength? Samuel is one of the best players on the team and now teams will be forced to choose their poison. Asante, Nnamdi, or DRC.
The Eagles have been living under the cap for years. Now they are approching it. They aren’t trading Samuel without getting some sort of ridiculous truck load of picks.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 2nd, 2011
3:22 pm
I think the Eagles will require more than just draft picks for Samuel. They are probably looking to see if they can upgrade at linebacker or right tackle via trade.
I think they would be smart to keep all three. More and more NFL teams use 3-WR sets anyway, and this would allow Philly to play man up in those situations.
thisguy
August 2nd, 2011
3:34 pm
i would like the falcons to sign grimes and C Rogers
thisguy
August 2nd, 2011
3:35 pm
Enter your comments here
Mike
August 2nd, 2011
3:36 pm
If we let Grimes sign somewhere else, don’t we get a first round pick? Couldnt we trade that to Philly if we negotiated the trade after Grimes signed?
Joe Tess Fish House
August 2nd, 2011
3:36 pm
How about cutting that looser Perrier Jerry to pay for Samual?
slydog
August 2nd, 2011
3:40 pm
I have some things to say: How many rings does Asante Samuel have? 3 Has Asante Samuel ever underperformed for what he was paid? No How many times, season after season does Samuel make a game breaking play, like a pick 6 or a gem ending interception? at least 7x a year for 5 years His gambling style is what you call “baiting” the QB. This is why a shutdown corner like Nanmdi only has 3 INT’s in 3 years. It’s just a different flavor. We already have a so-called “shutdown” CB in Dunta Robinson. We need a ballhawk and a game changer on the other side.
Hindu Elvis Pimp
August 2nd, 2011
3:45 pm
Some of you can’t be this dumb.
A team has a need for a CB, and a first round pick to burn on one. Which should they choose? Assante Samuel, or Brent Grimes?
I can’t believe some you think another team will give up a first round for Brent Grimes.
Big Dirty Dawg
August 2nd, 2011
3:46 pm
Jerry,
First, who’s your team?
Second, didnt Green Bay light up everyone last year in playoffs?
Third, Pointless Point!
Fouth, The Falcon Nation appreciates you’re not the GM!!
Hunker Down!!
CAPT-ATL
August 2nd, 2011
3:48 pm
the picture sums this clown up!! The Falcons don’t need “Homey da Clown”, regardless of his on field skills. Author Dont play that!!
Vick = Injury
August 2nd, 2011
3:58 pm
Vick won’t make it through the entire season – again! Plus now that Kolb is gone, even with the added defense, Philly is sunk.
Junkyard Dawg2011
August 2nd, 2011
4:02 pm
I agree with thisguy, Grimes has similar stats to Samuels the past two year, albeit that Samuels were better, and Grimes is definitely entering his peak years while Samuels will be on the decline pretty soon… I say sign the guy who will give you the most return in your investment which is Grimes.
extremus
August 2nd, 2011
4:03 pm
I don’t know whether Philadelphia would part with Samuel, especially to an NFL rival, but I saw Samuel in an interview today and he didn’t seem overly happy with them landing Asomugha; he questioned whether there was still a place for him with the Eagles, and seemed resigned for the possibility of going elsewhere.
As long as he would be a positive clubhouse presence (CHARACTER COUNTS!!!!), I think he could hugely help the Falcons on pass defense, a place where they were burned time and again last year. Add him to Dunta Robinson in the backfield and with the potentially explosive pass rush combo of Abraham, Edwards and company, the Falcons could be SCARY good on both sides of the ball. Yeah, if such a deal is workable I think the Falcons need to make it happen; combined with the Edwards signing it would probably offset the impact of the Asomugha signing by the Eagles (a big reason this deal may not happen; the Eagles aren’t stupid).
ATLER (Ramblin Wreck)
August 2nd, 2011
4:07 pm
Heck yes we need Samuel!!!!!! Sign him Arthur Blank sign him. And the AJC needs to hire Terence Moore back!!!!!!!! Schultz and Bradley suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!
gcs
August 2nd, 2011
4:09 pm
Pass on Asante Samuel:
1. He is 30 years old. That is getting up there for a CB.
2. He missed 4 games due to injuries last year.
3. He is a little full of himself. The Falcons don’t need any T.O.-like teammates.
4. The Falcons would have to trade some draft picks to get him. They cannot afford to lose too many more.
5. Don’t want to help Philadelphia out.
.
Falcons FO- Three Stooges
August 2nd, 2011
4:10 pm
They put all their stock in Julio!
jerry
August 2nd, 2011
4:10 pm
Big Dirty Dawg…………Don’t you think that me and everyone else on here knows the Falcons are not going to follow my suggestion? The Falcons are my team but I am not a groupie for any of them. So go beg one of them for their autograph.
Bozo
August 2nd, 2011
4:11 pm
Is today some sort of AJC conspiracy against Brent Grimes day? Sheesh.
commondollars
August 2nd, 2011
4:15 pm
YES!!! GO GET HIM!!! WE NEED ANOTHER CB AND ANOTHER RUNNINGBACK!!!
danny
August 2nd, 2011
4:25 pm
I like Samuel a lot but the first thing i think of when i hear his name is the dropped interception on the game winning drive against the Giants a few years ago in the Super Bowl while he was with the Pats
Andy V from NY
August 2nd, 2011
4:41 pm
Most of you posting could be the dumbest falcon fans on earth……….if anyone thinks Grimes is underrated and expendable you’re out of your minds. Led the league in passes defended….yes his size isnt ideal but he makes up for it with athleticism. We cant afford to let him go and hope we can use his first rounder this year as trade bait. And getting Osi for a 1st round draft pick is absurd…hes not worth a 1st rounder and we just got Ray Edwards…..our secondary will be fine…better pass rush equals better secondary. Grimes is only getting better. Now if we got Asante if he gets released thats a whole different scenario. TD does not let grimes go this year. FACT
The Legend
August 2nd, 2011
4:46 pm
Runner-
You are very obviously ignorant of what you speak of. To say Grimes burned us in the playoffs shows your lack of knowledge about the sport and how the game is really played for those who have played in college and know of it. It was Chad Owens, who’s constant ineptitude at corrner kept our defense on the feel longer than they should. It was Owens who gave up the easy TD, the easy catch on 3rd down. Grimes had 5 Int, 23 PD (2nd in the league) and completely shut down his side of the field to the point he wasnt being thrown at any more and if they did he made them paid with an Int.
GT GRAD
August 2nd, 2011
4:48 pm
Trade Grimes and next years 3rd round pick for Asante Samuel!!
Only feasible if Asante agrees to a reasonable 4 year deal with Atlanta.
A HIT....
August 2nd, 2011
4:52 pm
Matty Meltdown for Samuel ASAP! Make it so…
Eagles just picked up Ronnie Brown, running back from Miami?? Are you kidding me!!!!!!!!
Eagles= the 2011 Dream Team.
Falcons= Yawn.
“FALL CONS” lol!
A HIT....
August 2nd, 2011
5:02 pm
“Eagles sign former Dolphins RB Brown to 1-year deal
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Tuesday, August 02, 2011, 4:37pm
byline-frank.jpg
By Reuben Frank
CSNPhilly.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa — The Eagles on Monday found the veteran tailback they’ve been looking for, agreeing to a one-year contract with former Miami Dolphin Ronnie Brown.
Brown, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2006, had 4,815 rushing yards, 36 rushing touchdowns and a 4.3 average in six seasons with the Dolphins, who made him the second pick in the 2005 draft out of Auburn.
Brown is also an outstanding receiver, with 184 receptions for 1,491 yards. He’s had 30 or more catches in five of his six seasons.
Last year, Brown averaged a career-low 3.7 yards per carry with five touchdowns. He went to the Pro Bowl in 2008, when he rushed for 916 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 33 passes for 254 yards. Brown has also thrown two touchdown passes.
(More coming…)” The rich get richer!!!
Eagles 62, Falcons 18! Vick 2012 MVP!
skyrock
August 2nd, 2011
5:10 pm
I just think it is interesting that the Eagles are self proclaiming ” Dream Team” this season!! I believe Cincinnati & Dallas were being talked about like that the beginning of last year and how did that turn out!! LOL GO FALCONS!! Mark my words….. Eagles don’t make the playoffs!
Justin
August 2nd, 2011
5:30 pm
We could re-sign Finneran and have him play corner.
A HIT....
August 2nd, 2011
5:31 pm
Wade Phillips should have never been hired as head coach of Dallas.. This dude is not gifted that way..He’s a good Defensive Coordinator. Nothing more..Took Dallas 3 years to figure that out?
Week 2 Sun.9/18/2011 @ Atlanta Falcons on NBC @ 8:20pm! 6 Weeks ta go!!!! YEAH….
Andy Reid, owns the Falcons. Won 8 of 9, by an average of 2 touchdowns!
Eagles defense was worse than the Falcons and only lost by 5 to Greenbay. Vick ran outta of time or he would have come back to win it!! They are loading up to crush Greenbay this year…
Andy Reid is a better HC than any Falcons HC..They will glide into the playoffs….High-lite films coming.
Stay tune to watch the self-proclaim DREAM TEAM 2011-2012!
Lite one up!
A HIT....
August 2nd, 2011
5:39 pm
Week 1 Sun. 9/11/2011 @ St. Louis Rams
Week 2 Sun. 9/18/2011 @ Atlanta Falcons
Week 3 Sun. 9/25/2011 vs. New York Giants
Week 4 Sun. 10/2/2011 vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 5 Sun. 10/9/2011 @ Buffalo Bills
Week 6 Sun. 10/16/2011 @ Washington Redskins
Eagles go 6-0 first six games!