Packers miss major opportunity to finally address the one issue fans have been talking about for months
Asante Samuel Jr. is signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Green Bay Packers have lost the Asante Samuel Jr. sweepstakes. After facing competition against several teams, including two NFC North rivals in the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, the Packers saw the cornerback sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Why Asante Samuel was still unsigned
Rarely teams are able to sign real difference-makers in free agency in November. But Samuel is a specific case, because he spent months recovering from a neck injury that affected his free agent process. Samuel underwent spinal fusion surgery in April and has recently been cleared for football activities.
He visited several teams, starting with the Carolina Panthers, and was in Green Bay on Thursday. After evaluating his options, the cornerback signed with the Steelers with the expectation to help the team as soon as possible and regain value in the market.
Packers passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley was a position coach and then a defensive coordinator on the Los Angeles Chargers through most of Samuel’s tenure, but that wasn’t enough to land him.
“Resilience. Toughness. Short-term memory. Competitive character. All the things that make a corner unique that you have to have in the National Football League, he has those intangibles,” Ansley said about Samuel back in 2022, via the Chargers official website. “He wants to be great, doesn’t blink in adversity, the pressure doesn’t get to him – he actually thrives in it.”
Packers’ CB depth
The Packers have had a huge need at cornerback since the offseason, after losing Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Corey Ballentine, and Robert Rochell, only adding Nate Hobbs (who hasn’t played well and will miss the next few weeks with a new knee injury) and Micah Robinson (a seventh-round pick who’s not on the roster anymore).
The only cornerbacks on the roster with real experience are Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, while safety Javon Bullard has started in the slot. The primary backups were converted wide receiver Bo Melton and undrafted second-year player Kamal Hadden.
The Packers haven’t drafted a cornerback before the seventh round since 2021, when they took Stokes in the first round. All that means Samuel Jr. could have been a helpful piece down the stretch this season, but that won’t happen after all.
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