The San Francisco 49ers have had an active offseason, especially involving their secondary, which has seen Tre Brown, Siran Neal, Tre Tomlinson, Upton Stout, Jakob Robinson and Derrick Canteen replace Charvarius Ward, Isaac Yiadom, Rock Ya-Sin and Nick McCloud at cornerback.
When San Francisco gave Deommodore Lenoir a massive five-year, $88.88 million contract extension in 2024, they appeared to have their top cornerback locked in for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be looking for other options to help cover the wide receivers that they’ll face this year.
Advertisement
After losing out on former first-round pick Damon Arnette, who eventually signed with the Houston Texans in late-June, the 49ers may still pivot and sign a veteran who could be a true difference-maker in their 2025 campaign before training camp gets started.
And while there are a few options on the trade market and in free agency, many, including Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn, have been pushing for San Francisco to bring in Asante Samuel Jr.
Samuel, 25, is the son of two-time Super Bowl champion and four-time Pro Bowler Asante Samuel. He spent three seasons at Florida State, earning All-ACC honors twice before the Los Angeles Chargers took him in the second round (No. 47 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft.
The former Seminole earned a starting role as a rookie and didn’t look back, appearing in 50 games (starting 47) in his four years in Los Angeles while recording 176 tackles (three for a loss), 37 passes defensed, six interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Advertisement
This past year, Samuel was shut down just four games into the season due to a shoulder injury. In his short time on the field, he earned a 59.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking him 132nd out of 222 qualified cornerbacks. He also received a 59.8 run-defense grade (135th) and a 58.6 coverage grade (132nd).
As Cohn mentioned, if the 49ers do sign Samuel, he’d likely start at boundary corner, which could push Lenoir back to the slot and allow Stout, the team’s third-round pick out of Western Kentucky, to come along at his own pace.
At this point in the offseason, free agents aren’t signing big money deals, but the 49ers have plenty of cap space ($45.7 million, via Over the Cap) to entice him to join their roster if necessary. It may not be a superstar signing, but bringing in Samuel could make a massive difference for their defense down the stretch.
More 49ers: Analytics site misses mark in identifying 49ers biggest position battle
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Asante Samuel Jr. identified as a intriguing option for 49ers to sign
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
