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| Authored by Andrew Perna - 29th July, 2011 - 8:17 pm
 It was reported on Friday morning that free-agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha would sign with either the New York Jets or Dallas Cowboys.
The most sought-after free agent on the market, Asomugha was also courted by the Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals, according to numerous reports, but the Philadelphia Eagles shocked the football world by swooping in to sign the veteran and multi-time Pro Bowler.
Asomugha agreed to a five-year, $60 million contract with $25 million in guaranteed money. His average salary will actually be several million less than what the Oakland Raiders paid him for the 2010 season.
The initial reaction to the deal was one of shock.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said earlier this summer that he planned to be aggressive, but Philadelphia had not been mentioned as a serious contender for Asomugha since the NFL lockout ended earlier this week.
Instead of forming the best cornerback duo in the NFL with Darrelle Revis in New York, Asomugha will do so with Asante Samuel in Philadelphia. Of course, there is another fairly big name in the secondary as well.
The Eagles acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the Cardinals in the Kevin Kolb trade on Thursday, giving them an unrivaled trio of cornerbacks following a pair of moves over roughly a 24-hour period.
Philadelphia fell in the middle of the pack last season, allowing an average of 217 passing yards per game, but opposing offenses picked when to abuse what was a one-sided secondary.
Only Dallas and Houston allowed more passing touchdowns in 2010 and Aaron Rodgers exploited the Philadelphia secondary in the first round of the playoffs this past January.
The defensive backfield was very much all-or-nothing. While it is true they were scored on a ton, they also intercepted the third-most passes (23) in the league. This season, teams are going to try and abuse the Eagles on the ground, putting pressure on the line and middle of the defense to keep coordinators from avoiding the pass as much as possible.
Grade for Eagles: A
Shortly after the Asomugha signing broke, credit to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, rumors began to emerge that the Eagles could look to shop either Samuel or Rodgers-Cromartie with Asomugha moving to the top spot on the depth chart.
"He will be a great addition to our cornerback corps," coach Andy Reid said of Asomugha after the deal was announced. "Right now we have three great cornerbacks ... we will see how things go there."
Even if they fully intend to keep all three, the Eagles would have to be naive to think this signing is not going to spark trade rumors. The consensus is that Samuel will be sent packing, if any one is, because having a pair of elite 30-year-old cornerbacks is fine now, but will be troubling in a few seasons. Rodgers-Cromartie is just 25 years old.
The easy solution to the three cornerback "problem" would be to call up any one of the several teams that wanted Asomugha and offer Samuel as a consolation prize. They could plug any number of holes they currently have in their roster, which has changed quite a bit this week as the post-lockout NFL endures a flurry of signings, trades and cuts.
The smarter move, however, would be to hold onto Samuel and take a wait-and-see approach.
There are still opportunities to sign free agents and swing more trades, which could add depth/improvements at other positions.
Instead of rushing to trade Samuel, the Eagles would be wise to go into the regular season with their famed trio. After a few meaningful games, especially with Falcons and Giants on the schedule in the first three weeks, the front office can better determine exactly what is standing in the way of this team and a Super Bowl.
At that point, they can deal Samuel to fill an in-season need. Sure, the overall value of the haul they would get in return for the Pro Bowler may go down, but the Eagles have made it clear that the have their sights on the Vince Lombardi trophy and nothing else.
Of course, there is a possibility that Philadelphia will play out the 2011 season with all three on the roster. Injuries are always a certain, especially with a guy like Samuel, who missed five games last season with a knee issue.
If Asomugha or Samuel miss a game here-or-there with a nagging injury, who better to slide from nickel cover man to starter than a guy like Rodgers-Cromartie?
Either way, passing is going to be very tough for the likes of Eli Manning and Tony Romo this season. |
