Andy Reid said today that Asante Samuel would be a "stretch" to play in this weekend's finale against the Redskins as he continues to rehab a hamstring injury. This means that we may have seen the last of Asante Samuel as an Eagle.
We've obviously seen the repeated rumors of the Eagles talking trade about Samuel and of course we've seen him bristle at those reports. They signed Nnamdi Asomugha to a giant contract and traded for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in one offseason... So certainly the groundwork for Asante's departure has been set.
And from a logical perspective, it makes sense to move him. He's making a lot of money year whereas a guy like DRC is cheap. And as we've seen this year, DRC is far more effective on the outside than in the slot. So if we assumed that all three current guys can't play together, Asante is the logical man out. The team isn't locked into him for a lot of guarnateed money like they are Nnamdi.
He's been pretty much as advertised in his time in Philly. In four seasons he's collected 23 picks, which is tops in the league, but at the same time we've certainly seen some of his comical attempts at tackling over that time. The one place he's been better than advertised has been as a cover guy. For all we hear about his being a "gambler" and a guy that sells out for picks, he's been a remarkably good cover guy over these past few years.
So if we have seen the last of Asante in green, how will you you look back on his time here?