There was a lot of speculation that the Eagles were listening to offers for Asante Samuel prior to the season, but no deal was ever done. Now, with about two and a half hours to go before the trade deadline, the rumors have cropped up again. NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora tweeted today,
Eagles letting it be known that CB Asante Samuel could be had prior to the trade deadline. Not sure odds of it going down are great but it's certainly possible. Samuel very likely in his last year in Philly. Eagles already loaded with picks though. Need LBs and linemen.
Therein lies the problem. It would seem that the only teams that would want Samuel are ones that are thinking Superbowl right now, because he's older and expensive so you wouldn't see him as a fit for a young and growing team. He's more a final piece type player. So while they may be willing to give up picks, are the Eagles willing to give up a really good player just to stockpile more picks? It would seem more likely that the Eagles would want to fill hole, like say at LB...
But who is going to give up a good LB to get a corner? What the Eagles would have to do is find a team like them with a surplus at LB but a need at corner. Anyone care to guess who that might me?
You may remember that Asante didn't love the rumors about him maybe be trading in preseason.
“If they’re tired of my big-playmaking ability, maybe they’ll ship me out,” Samuel said. “Maybe they’ll keep me. I don’t know. Who knows. I want to be where I’m wanted. If I’m wanted here, [I want to be] here. If I’m not appreciated here, then life goes on. I move on.”