SideLion Report » Nnamdi Asomugha

The Lions should not trade for Asante Samuel

Brandon Folsom — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 22:40:04 +0000

Hey Lions fan, do you want to sound smart around your friends when you talk about football? Use the following argument against one of your pals when they say that the Detroit Lions should trade for Philadelphia Eagles’ CB Asante Samuel:

November 13, 2011; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel (22) returns an interception for a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals during second quarter action at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-US PRESSWIRE

The Eagles must pay Samuel $9.4M in base salary this season. In addition to two other bonuses, he will account for a $10.5M salary cap hit. He will be the third highest paid player on the Eagles this season by making roughly $800K less than CB Nnamdi Asomugha and $3.4M less than QB Michael Vick.

The Lions do not have enough salary cap room to sign free agents, upcoming draft picks, and undrafted free agents if they trade for Asante Samuel. The only way Detroit trades for Asante Samuel is if he is willing to take a significant pay cut to join the squad; however, as we previously saw with his contract negotiations with the Eagles, he is all about his money, man.

Another factor Lions fans should be aware of is that Samuel is 31-years old and is no longer in his prime. The Detroit Lions could add a more valuable player to its secondary by drafting a younger, cheaper player in the middle rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft.

The final reason the Lions will not make this deal is that Martin Mayhew is too smart to pull the trigger on such a lousy trade. The Detroit Lions franchise has one of the most levelheaded General Managers in the NFL and Mayhew knows that the money and draft picks saved from not trading for Samuel will be more valuable now and in the future. Samuel will most likely attract a middle-round draft pick and a conditional late-round pick. The Lions have found several players in those rounds that have contributed during the past three seasons (e.g. Amari Spievey, DeAndre Levy, and Willie Young).

Do not waste your time arguing for this trade, Lions fan. The Lions do not need Samuel or his putrid contract.

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All Quiet on the Cornerback Front for Detroit Lions

Zac Snyder — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 02:17:52 +0000

Overwhelming opinion was that the Detroit Lions would have to be heavily involved in the linebacker and cornerback market. The linebacker part has certainly played out at thought; Stephen Tulloch is being heavily pursued by the Lions front office and players alike. Nick Barnett has also become an option and he is showing some interest in the Lions via twitter.

The story is much different when it comes to cornerback. The Lions have reached an agreement to re-sign Brandon McDonald but that is hardly the news fans have been waiting for. Nnamdi Asomugha is clearly out of the picture for financial reasons, however other desirable corners such as Johnathan Joseph or Chris Carr could be in play. The only problem? The Lions don’t seem to be linked to any cornerback in particular.

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Martin Mayhew’s Plans for Free Agency Might Differ from Detroit Lion Fans’

Zac Snyder — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:45:37 +0000

Martin Mayhew has built up a level of trust with fans as we’ve seen the results of his work. I find that interesting considering that it seems like every personnel decision except for the drafting of Ndamukong Suh was met with some measure of resistance.

Aaron Curry was the popular fan pick over Matthew Stafford, the selection of Brandon Pettigrew was, and to some degree still is, controversial, the Kyle Vanden Bosch signing was met with skepticism from a fan base that had just been burned by the previous coach bringing in “his guys” and this most recent draft failed to address the positions thought to be of primary concern. Despite all that, the Detroit Lions are one of the most talked about teams heading into the 2011 season and we haven’t even had the free agency period yet.

Ah, the free agency period. Another potential opportunity for fans to create their own agenda only to have Martin Mayhew go in another direction. Get ready, it might happen again.

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