The Green Bay Packers are approaching free agency in 2025 with no priority free agents, plenty of salary cap space and a need to add veteran talent to a young, cheap and ascending roster.
One year after signing safety Xavier McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs in free agency, general manager Brian Gutekunst is in a position to make another splash in 2025.
Until free agency, Packers Wire will run through potential options, continuing today with cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., in an attempt to identify the pros and cons of each potential target for Gutekunst.
Samuel, a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2021 draft, visited Green Bay pre-draft and has a clear coaching connection to the Packers.
Let’s dig into the pros and cons of the Packers going after Samuel:
Pros
— Samuel is only 25 years old and has both starting experience and production history. He’s a 47-game starter at cornerback with six career interceptions (two each in 2021-23) and 37 pass breakups (at least 10 every year between 2021-23).
— Samuel spent his first three seasons working under current Packers pass game coordinator Derrick Ansley in Los Angeles. Ansley was his position coach in 2021 and 2022 and the Chargers defensive coordinator in 2023. Familiarity is so important in determining fits for players.
— The Packers need competition and depth at cornerback, especially if Jaire Alexander is released or traded and Eric Stokes leaves in free agency. Most of Samuel’s NFL experience is outside as a perimeter cornerback.
— Samuel has two years of effective coverage at corner. He produced coverage grades at PFF over 75.0 in both 2022 and 2023.
— Eric Stokes hasn’t broken up a pass since 2021. Samuel has consistently gotten his hands on the football. The playmaking upgrade from Stokes to Samuel would be significant.
— Samuel, the son of former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel, was in Green Bay on a pre-draft visit in 2021. The personnel staff will have something close to a complete profile on him, especially with Ansley’s insight coming from Los Angeles.
Cons
— Samuel missed all but four games in 2024 while dealing with a stinger in his shoulder area after a collision in practice. Per Kris Rhim of ESPN, Samuel said the issue is something he’s had since he was born, suggesting it could be a recurring issue in a contact sport.
— It’s unclear how big the market for Samuel will be, but young corners usually command big money. The injury in 2024 might dampen his market some, but Samuel probably won’t come cheap.
— Samuel is definitely on the smaller side. He’s listed at 5-10 and 180 pounds. The Packers have generally avoided smaller players at corner.
— Tackling has been an issue, possibly due to his lack of size. Per PFF, Samuel has missed 36 career tackles and has a missed tackle percentage of 16.7. That’s very high and would create a potential run-defending liability.
— Samuel has never finished a season with a run defense grade at PFF above 60.6.
— Samuel has only three career tackles for loss and zero forced fumbles. He gets his hands on the ball in the passing game but isn’t a negative play creator otherwise. (For comparison, Keisean Nixon had eight tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in 2024 alone.)
— The Chargers gave up a lot of points on defense in 2022 and 2023 when Samuel was a starter. Last season, Samuel played in only four games but the Chargers rose to the No. 1 scoring defense under Jesse Minter.
— The Packers like Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine as perimeter corners, so spending money on a smaller player coming off a major injury might not interest Brian Gutekunst.