It took less than four days for the Philadelphia Eagles to turn their once doughnut defense into one of the scariest secondary’s in the NFC. All of this comes just a day after general manager Howie Roseman acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie earlier this week, and now, the Eagles have hooked another free agent name from Friday’s rather shallow pool.
Originally, it looked as if the Jets were the frontrunners to land cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha if money was to do the talking. But after so much speculation surrounding the Eagles 14th rank pass defense in 2010, the Green Bay Packers may no longer be the Super Bowl favorites ahead of this season.
Right now, Asomugha is set to sign a five-year deal worth $60 million, even though he has placed just three interceptions on the board in the past three years. More importantly though, $25 million is guaranteed to Asomugha, but what isn’t a certainty right now is Asante Samuel’s future in Philadelphia.
With Rodgers-Cromartie now in Eagle green, it’s likely Samuel may walk one day soon. Currently he is the Eagles highest paid player on Andy Reid’s roster – or at least that was the case until Asomugha was signed on Friday.
There is also a call for concern surrounding Samuel’s play style in comparison to Asomugha. Samuel likes to play off the man in comparison to Asomugha’s close play style with the receiver, leaving defensive coordinator Juan Castillo caught between a veteran of the Eagles defense, and one of the most sought after cornerbacks in the league.
If nothing happens within the next week though, it’s difficult to see Samuel sticking around.
Just as quickly as the Eagles exited the playoffs last season in the NFC Wildcard game, Reid and co. have played the role of silent assassin quite nicely. Fooling the media by trading Kevin Kolb to the Arizona Cardinals was a perfect beard when it came to signing Asomugha ahead of the Jets or Cowboys.
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