I know, I know, it's a crazy idea. But before you all start with your "trade for an Eagle after the McNabb deal, no way!", hear me out for a minute.
ProFootballTalk ran a story this morning about how the Eagles were "willing to take whatever they can get for Asante Samuel". The Eagles reportedly just want to get Samuel's contract - $10 million this season, $11.5 million next year - off their books; and will take whatever they can get in return.
I was intrigued when I read this. Despite the belief of some, Samuel is still a top corner in this league and would be an instant upgrade over DeAngelo Hall. So I took to ProFootballFocus to check out if the stats back this up. The results are after the jump.
DeAngelo Hall had 558 snaps in coverage last season. He was targeted 94 times, giving up 63 receptions for 858 yards and five touchdowns. Hall allowed a reception on average for every 8.9 snaps he was in coverage. Quarterbacks had an average rating of 100.4 when throwing his way. Hall managed thee interceptions.
In contrast, Asante Samuel had 455 snaps in coverage. He was targeted 61 times but allowed just 29 receptions for 296 yards and two touchdowns. Samuel gave up a reception for every 15.7 snaps, while quarterbacks only managed an average rating of 52.4 when throwing at him. Samuel had four interceptions.
Now those stats could mean nothing to you, so to give you some perspective, here's Darrelle Revis' stat line. Revis is widely considered to be the top corner in the NFL.
Revis was in coverage for 553 snaps. He was targeted 85 times, only giving up 35 receptions for 508 yards and one touchdown. Revis allowed a reception once every 15.8 snaps in coverage, with quarterbacks averaging a measly 45.6 rating against him. Revis had four interceptions.
Now from that, it's easy to see that Samuel is still a top NFL corner. His numbers are at least comparable to Revis while Hall's stats are nowhere near the standard set by Revis. The problem the Eagles have faced with trading Samuel is his contract, and that would still be a problem for the Redskins. But our good friend JimmyK (go follow him on twitter) suggested the Redskins could cut Hall's big salary to help make room for Samuel's contract. While Hall's salary probably wouldn't clear enough room for Samuel, you could restructure guys like Chris Cooley and Trent Williams fairly easily to get under the cap.
What do you think? After seeing the stats, should the Redskins cut Hall and trade a late round pick for Samuel?