Asante Samuel Reportedly Traded To Atlanta Falcons

[Note by JasonB, 04/25/12 7:12 PM EDT ] It's a 7th round pick, which certainly has to make you wonder why even bother with a trade? Why not just cut him?

Multiple sources are reporting that Asante Samuel has agreed to a restructured 3 year, $18.5 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons. The contract has been the main stumbling block all along with Samuel, so now that that's out of the way a deal should be done soon.

The only thing we don't know is what the compensation to the Eagles will be. Earlier reports said that the Broncos were offering either a 5th or 6th round pick and that the Eagles were fine with that, but Asante's contract demands derailed that deal.

Now, the $18.5 mil over 3 years is a pretty big per year cut from the $21.5 million he was supposed to earn over the next two years. It will be interesting to see how much of that is guaranteed. That could also potentially affect the level of compensation the Eagles get in return.

Either way, it appears all but certain that we've seen the end of Asante's run in Philly. All in all you'd have to say it was a successful one. He played at a high level and while he didn't always do what he was supposed to, he certainly earned every bit of the big free agent deal he got.

Next year, as the Eagles transition fully to a press man coverage scheme, we'll be seeing Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as the starters.