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- Troy BallardThe Philadelphia Eagles off-season has been headlined by the future of DeSean Jackson, but in the back of the scene, there is a possibility that cornerback Asante Samuel may not be with the team next year.
Despite the acquisitions of Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Philadelphia's secondary was completely underwhelming last season. Samuel arguably had the best year of all three corners, but it was overshadowed by an overall disappointing performance from the entire defense.
The Eagles' trio of corners busted. That's the blunt truth of what happened. Asomugha struggled to adjust to the Eagles defensive scheme, Rodgers-Cromartie hardly saw the field, and Samuel played his typical high-risk high-reward style.
Heading into next year, the Eagles front office is going to have to weed out players, especially defensively, that are no longer making a positive impact on the field. There will be a heavy emphasis on the cornerback position, and there will be a major change with at least one player.
Who's the odd-man out? Asante Samuel.
When the Eagles traded Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for a draft pick and Rodgers-Cromartie, the trade-drum for Samuel began to sound. That was last off-season, and before Philadelphia had even signed Asomugha.
After Philadelphia had secured Asomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie, the sparks for Samuel to be traded began seriously flying. Despite numerous rumors about various offers for Samuel, the Eagles decided to hold onto him going into the season. Obviously, it didn't end up paying dividends.
Now, with the amount of depth Philadelphia has at corner, Samuel has become expendable. Even if he did play the best of the trio, there is only room for Asomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie to grow with a full off-season to work with coaches. There is almost no chance that Philadelphia would consider bumping Samuel to third on the depth chart, as it would be a waste of talent and space on the roster.
Another possible attraction to the Eagles trading away Samuel is based financially. The 31-year-old Samuel is signed through 2013, and will be making $9.4 million for the upcoming season. In his last contract year, Samuel is bringing in a whopping $11.4 million.
If Philadelphia were to trade away Samuel for draft picks or players at positions of need, the Eagles would clear up that cap space for the future. With the massive free-agency haul the Eagles brought into Philadelphia last season, cap space will be at a premium moving forward.
The flip-side -- keep Samuel.
There's no doubt this will be the least popular of the two, as the Eagles have the depth at corner, and have other needs that need to be addressed, and it would be the perfect time to deal away Samuel. But there is another side that Philadelphia should look into before taking the first-deal to arrive on the doorstep.
Samuel may be a high-risk high-reward style corner, but he is literally the only play maker on the Eagles defense. There is not a single player that can force turnovers on a consistent basis. The defensive line is consistent but does not force turnovers, the linebackers are total garbage, the safeties are flirting with unemployment, and both DRC and Asomugha are press corners.
I know there is a large portion of Eagles fans that would be more than happy seeing Samuel packing his bags. Fans will always bounce back to the 'get-burned-Asante' that gives up touchdowns, and not the game changing corner that can win games. If Philadelphia were to trade away Samuel, the Eagles defense could severely struggle trying to force turnovers without him on the field.
More than likely, regardless of Samuel's play making ability, he will be traded away. Philadelphia has too many needs and the value for Samuel will be too high to turn down. Not to mention, it would be a massive salary dump. The Eagles front office usually ends up making good personnel decisions, and I have faith that will be the case with Samuel.
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