I'd jokingly made a post last Thursday that the Redskins were interested in Asante Samuel, given the inevitability that we'd be interested since (apparently) we're interested in every free agent.
It was actually Ryan Wilson who'd first predicted such a move, so enormous credit to him for getting in front of it. He had suggested that we'd send Springs and the #6 for Samuel and the #28. And sure enough, a similar trade gets officially rumored in Sunday's Boston Herald (Hat Tip: Hog Heaven):
But it also could bring an impact player who'd be ready to start the opener on Sept. 9. His name is LaRon Landry.
With Rodney Harrison [stats]'s injury troubles over the past two years, the Pats have gone through long stretches without a premier safety for the first time since Lawyer Milloy joined the team in 1996. Landry could be the next one, a 6-foot-1, 213-pounder who ran a 4.35 at the combine and played his first two years at LSU under Belichick confidant Nick Saban.
Getting the sixth pick would move the Patriots ahead of the Falcons, who are eyeing Landry with their No. 8 pick. Of course, there's a lot of projecting there, but it's worth a thought. . . .
Regarding the trade itself, that's even better than the trade suggested by Ryan Wilson, since we'd keep Springs. That would make our secondary unnecessarily crowded, with Samuel, Springs, Smoot, Rogers, and, now David Macklin. But crowded secondaries are the type of problem teams wish they had, so...
How the team signs Samuel and all their draft picks with just around 5M remaining under the cap is anyone's guess. Some cuts will inevitably follow, or perhaps a post June 1st trade of Shawn Springs (which would save just under 5M this year). Personally, I'm fine with our secondary and not just a little bit concerned with what Samuel will cost relative to what we have to spend. And #28 (like #31 in the Briggs trade proposal) is a long ways removed from some of the clear cut elite pass rushing Defensive Ends in this draft.
I feel the same about this trade as I did about the Lance Briggs issue, if only a bit better. Cornerback is a harder position to fill than weak side linebacker, and he'd spend more time on the field. But Samuel would either mean the end of Springs (and then are we really upgrading or merely replacing the injury prone guy? Which is an upgrade I guess...) or else the end of Carlos Rogers, who would be buried at #4 -- at best nickel if he can beat out Captain Smoot.
I'd like to know how much Samuel feels he deserves before I get behind this. We had the numbers on Briggs, though that was never a good idea given the position he played.
Reader(s), are you just as hostile towards this as you are Briggs or does Samuel get a longer look? Where should Hogs Haven be on this?