Atlanta Falcons in the front seat to trade for Philadelphia Eagles CB Asante Samuel - NFL News
The Atlanta Falcons have been relatively quiet this offseason with no big deals or free agent signings. That however, is likely to change soon as the franchise according to sources is considering bringing in Philadelphia Eagles cornerback, Asante Samuel.
The Falcons have concentrated more on their own free agents this season as general manager, Thomas Dimitroff looks to bring in talent that will give the franchise a chance to win in the upcoming season rather than the future.
Samuel who is a four-time Pro-Bowler will be the only big name the franchise will bring to the roster this offseason from the outside and his addition will be a big boost to the Falcons secondary.
A trade is likely to be done before the National Football League (NFL) drafts according to various reports in the media.
Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan on Tuesday, praised Samuel’s game play and called him one of the toughest defensemen he has faced.
"As far as Asante Samuel, I can only speak for having played against him a number of times and I know that's he's been extremely difficult to play against and has done a great job against us when we've played him in the past,"
Atlanta is looking to end its poor postseason form in the upcoming season.
The Falcons have lost the first postseason game each time they made the playoffs and last year were knocked out in the wildcard round by eventual Super Bowl winners New York Giants by an embarrassing 24-2 margin.
This year though they are looking to end their bad fortune in the playoffs and Matt Ryan is on board with the general manager’s win-now policy.
"I'm certainly in a win-now mode. I think that's the only way you can approach the NFL. Every time you suit up and every time you play, it's for one reason and that reason is to win."
Samuel will have to restructure his contract for any trade to go through with the Falcons. His current deal would pay him $9.9 million in 2012 and would grow to $11.4 million in the 2013 season.
If the trade goes through it will be a big statement of intent from the Falcons as they bring in one of the most consistent cornerbacks in the game to help improve their defence.
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