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Asante Wants To Join Tampa
Posted Feb 25, 2008 at 02:23 PM
Updated Feb 25, 2008 at 02:47 PM

Tampa Bay might be courting several free agents, but Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel is ready to entice the Bucs.

Samuel is slated to become an unrestricted free agent later this week and Tampa Bay is on the short list of teams he is interested in playing for.

“That [Tampa Bay] is a situation that makes sense,” said Alonzo Shavers, Samuel’s agent. “Tampa Bay is definitely worth considering. It was an organization that was in the Super Bowl not too long ago. It is an organization Asante wants to play for. It’s definitely something that makes perfect sense for everybody.”

Shavers said he has not spoken with Tampa Bay yet, but expects to speak with the Bucs after Samuel officially becomes a free agent on February 29.

Tampa Bay might listen to Shavers’ pitch, especially considering it is about to lose cornerback Brian Kelly to free agency. The longtime starting left corner recently paid $453,000 to come a free agent, leaving Tampa Bay thin at that position.

Samuel, 27, would be an instant upgrade for one of the top secondary’s in the NFL.

Since entering the NFL five years ago, Samuel (5-foot-10 and 185 pounds) has emerged into one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, evident by his Pro Bowl appearance. Samuel, who has two Super Bowl rings, started 53 of 75 career regular-season games and notched 232 tackles (208 solo), 22 interceptions for 224 yards and three touchdowns.

The biggest number that could hinder Samuel from becoming a Buccaneer is the nearly $8 million salary he earned last season with New England.

Tampa Bay is $30 million under the salary cap, but the Bucs typically do not spend large amounts of money on free agents. Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber was the second highest paid player on the roster at $6 million (rookie Gaines Adams earned $15 million), and Samuel would likely want a contract to match or exceed what he was paid last season.

However, Shavers is optimistic an agreement can be made.
“We’re not having a large pool of teams to chose from,” Shavers said. “Not everybody will need him or want to pay that kind of money. It’s going to be a select group and Tampa Bay is high on our short list.”

What are you thoughts? Do you think Tampa Bay GM Bruce Allen should talk with Samuel, or would you prefer to draft a cornerback?

Send Us Your Comments

Posted by Bill Byrne, Marietta, Georgia 30064 on 02/25 at 04:33 PM

Samuel is a terrific cornerback but we can’t pay him more than Barber. A better pass rush is more important than a great cornerback and makes good cornerbacks look great. Upgrade the pass rush first.

Posted by Walter Miller, Maryland on 02/25 at 04:30 PM

This is a guy we need to get. Buchannon is a good corner but I don’t believe he is a shut down corner like Asante is. Why draft a unproven corner early when we could sign a pro-browler that is not to old and that could make our secondary one of or the most dominant in the league. We don’t need to much more work to make a legitament run at the superbowl.

Posted by Joel Schaffer, Belleair Bluffs, FL on 02/25 at 04:24 PM

I would love for the Buccaneers to sign Asante but if his price is to high we have a late 1st round pick that could be cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie of Tennessee State

Posted by Jay V, Tampa on 02/25 at 04:23 PM

Lets draft a corner, that position is deep this year, you can get great value all the way down to the 3rd-4th round. I trust our team’s scouting to bring in the right guy. Besides Asante would cost too much money, lets use our money on playmakers on the offensive side.

Posted by Mike, New Jersey on 02/25 at 04:22 PM

I definitely feel that Samuel will catapult us back into one of the elite secondaries in the league. With BK gone and Ronde getting up there, we need a playmaker to compliment Philip. He is a shut down player. PAY THE MAN HIS MONEY BRUCE, you won’t regret it.

Posted by Jay V, Tampa on 02/25 at 04:21 PM

Posted by Brian, tampa on 02/25 at 04:17 PM

Strong corners are essential for the cover 2 defense to work. The Bucs are not going to have the top choice in the draft so free agency may be the way to go.

Posted by Jason Jesse, on 02/25 at 03:15 PM

With Kelly gone and Rhonde like 33 years old, we need to make this happen if possible. Asante is a great CB and only 27. He could be a pillar in this defense like Rhonde has for at least 5-6 years. If we don’t get him….what happens next year when Rhonde retires? Then we have NO great CBs and have to start from scratch.

Posted by Robert Woods, Jacksonville, Fl on 02/25 at 03:11 PM

Since Asante is being choosy about where wants to go, he may be willing to accept less money than he typically goes for. Tampa seems to have a knack, of late, of acquiring players for low rates. Phillip Buchannan was a steal at his rate and Chris Hovan was too.

Posted by Raymond Kerker, Brandon on 02/25 at 02:47 PM

Asanta Samuel is a great cornerback but the price to sign him is high, considering the Bucs have a quality guy in Phillip Buchannon who already has started and played well for them why not draft a corner instead. There are a few good ones this year, save the money for a quality Wideout and Defensive Lineman like Rod Coleman. I think it’s a mistake to blow 8 million on a cornerback this early in Free Agency.