Eagles, Jets, and Others Targeting Asante Samuel Early

Unrestricted free agent Asante Samuel figures to be the most sought after (and highest priced) free agent this offseason, and when the bidding opens February 29th, expect the bids to come early and often. Last year's top free agent cornerback Nate Clements landed a reported 8-year $80 million deal (with $22 million guaranteed) from the free spending San Francisco 49ers, but the deal was structured more like a 7-year $64 million deal with a huge back end that has already been voided. Clements was snapped up in the first days of free agency, and look for Samuel to try to get the same type of contract in the first couple of days of free agency.

In another year where a number of clubs are very flush with cap space, the Philadelphia Eagles have been rumored to be targeting Samuel, who would be paired with either Lito Sheppard or Sheldon Brown in a presumed camp competition. The Eagles are roughly $17.17 million under the projected 2008 cap of $116 million, with 49 players under contract, and will probably have much more space once they clean up the roster, including the likely event of restructing or releasing of Jevon Kearse's high dollar deal.

The New York Jets ($27.72 million under cap, with 45 players under contract) have also already been rumored to be very interested in acquiring Samuel. They brought him in last year when he had already been slapped with the franchise tag, but that was probably more of a look-see to just toy with the Patriots, and possibly to see what they'd be getting this year. Jets coach Eric Mangini is intimately familiar with Samuel, having coached him when he was the defensive coordinator for the Patriots.

A number of other teams with significant cap space, including the Tennessee Titans ($40.85 million under cap), Buffalo Bills ($32.05 million under cap), New Orleans Saints ($31.69 million under cap), Cincinatti Bengals ($31.45 million under cap), and Arizona Cardinals ($30.27 million under cap) also all need help at cornerback, and are all rife with a surplus of money that needs to be spent. Look for the top suitors to be the Jets, Patriots, Eagles, and Saints.