Player: CB Asante Samuel Jr.
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Not only did Asante Samuel Jr. dress for the Steelers on Sunday, he played a significant amount, albeit due to injury. Now that he has gotten his feet wet it could be the beginning of a starting tenure. With Darius Slay on the bench and James Pierre in concussion protocol, it may even be necessary.
The Steelers won the Asante Samuel Jr. sweepstakes, but we’re still learning the value of the prize. After a couple weeks of acclimation on the practice squad, the veteran cornerback made his Steelers debut on Sunday. Though dressed for depth, he had to play a lot after James Pierre suffered a concussion.
By appearances, he seemed to hold his own, which shouldn’t be a surprise given that he has been a starter for most of his career. Samuel certainly didn’t look like he hadn’t played in more than a year. But he also didn’t look like he’d just played a week ago, either.
Remember when the Steelers came into this season thinking they had assembled a dream-team cornerback room? Mike Tomlin boasted that they had three man cover corners who could line up with anybody in the NFL. Now, Joey Porter Jr. on a good day does have the chops. Jalen Ramsey still has some gas in the tank, but there’s more than one reason that he’s playing safety. And, well, there’s a reason that Darius Slay didn’t dress against the Bills.
Or rather multiple reasons, and one of them was Asante Samuel Jr. The Steelers are glad to have him, but what exactly do they envision for him? Given that he signed to their practice squad while evidently canceling other visits he had lined up, one might conclude that they gave him assurances of a role. Or at least a clear path to one.
Well, one way or another, Samuel has that clear path now. He could be in the Steelers’ starting lineup this week and perhaps going forward. I’m sure Tomlin will be asked about their plans for Samuel, and Slay, so it will be interesting to see how he handles it.
With regular season underway and the roster in place, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
After a long offseason, we finally know what this Steelers team will look like for the 2025 season. The dust is long settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re into the real thing. What final moves might the team make, if any? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
