Asante Samuels speaks through body art

by Skin Patrol on Jan 18, 2007 11:47 AM EST in Redskins Analysis

Earlier in the week I'd posted 20 million reasons why we might not sign CB Nate Clements to shore up our secondary needs. Reader TexSkins thought Clements was a good fit, though I suggested New England's Asante Samuels as a, perhaps cheaper, alternative.

I was wrong.

Tattoos are permanent. If you choose to have a message drilled onto your arm with a needle, then you must really mean what you say.

Check out Asante Samuel's tattoo: Get Paid.

He inked "Get Paid" on himself. And I have to admit that the way he is treating the "negotiations" (here meaning Asante laughing at the Patriots' offer) is disturbing (emphasis added):

"We've talked to them about a new contract," Samuel said. "What they offered isn't even worth discussing.

"It's disappointing. You want to believe they know what you've done. So you hope for the best, but you end up feeling underappreciated. You feel disrespected, especially how they come at you with so much negative stuff. They show you such a low regard.

"I took it personally, at first. You'd think I would have been around this team long enough to realize it's all about business. So I'm putting it out of my mind.

"If you get emotional, you are going to lose focus and that will show up on the field. I'm not going to make that mistake."

Where this leaves us is anyone's guess. I'm certain that Snyder will take a stab at either Samuels or Clements, but now I don't know which is the lesser of two evils from a contract perspective. Clements is the known concern, with a 20M signing bonus asking price. Samuels is the unknown who expects to get paid (and likely deserves it). One way or another, if we want to improve our secondary in Free Agency, it's going to cost us money that we might not have.

I still think Samuels is the better choice as he is younger and we don't yet know what he's asking for. But once details of what he thinks he deserves to "Get paid" are revealed, I'll weigh in further.

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Comments

Not so much as a "good fit"

but more like the "best available."

Both of these guys will sign a contract worth more than I will make in my entire lifetime, and I can't see the Skins being able to offer those type of numbers.

I say trade, trade, trade... and this time, FOR draft picks, not use them for guys that don't play.

by TexSkins on Jan 19, 2007 6:59 PM EST reply actions