Asante Samuel
Sounds like he's still dealing with injury issues. I know some on this board were hoping we'd sign him on the 28th with the compensatory period is over.
For the last few weeks, there have been some intriguing rumors floating around about the possibility of the Minnesota Vikings signing free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., who spent the last four seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Unfortunately, any Vikings fans who have fallen in love with the idea of the team signing Samuel this offseason might end up with a broken heart thanks to a recent report about an injury that the veteran cornerback is currently dealing with.
According to NFL Media's Mike Garafolo earlier this month, Samuel is still dealing with symptoms related to a neck/shoulder injury that kept him off the field for 13 games last season, and this has had an impact on the amount of interest that he's been able to generate since the start of free agency in March.
Chances of former Los Angeles Chargers CB Asante Samuel Jr. playing for the Minnesota Vikings in 2025 seem low
As Minnesota fans know from the experience the team had with Danielle Hunter in 2020, a neck injury is nothing to mess around with, especially one with lingering symptoms.
So, while it was fun to think about the possibility of Samuel joining the Vikings' secondary this offseason, the likelihood of it actually happening now seems pretty low after what Garafolo revealed.
It's possible that things could change before the start of the 2025 season, but Minnesota's focus has probably already shifted to other free agents and trade possibilities who could be added to the team's secondary this year.
Whether Samuel ends up with the Vikings or not during the next few months, the team's cornerback room is going to look a lot different next season than it did in 2024.
Minnesota was able to re-sign Byron Murphy Jr. this offseason, but Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin aren't expected to be back, and they both played a significant amount of snaps for the team in 2024.
Mekhi Blackmon will be returning from a torn ACL he suffered last summer, and the Vikings also signed Jeff Okudah in free agency. But the team likely still needs to add another more reliable corner or two before the start of the 2025 season.
Source: https://thevikingage.com/la-chargers-asante-samuel-injury-news-minnesota-vikings-fans-hopeless
Unless you offer him an incentive laden contract for games played..sounds like he may not be an option
It's unfortunate...They will need to get creative (and lucky) to round out that CB room some.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
For those wondering, here's the list of still FA CBs
Asante Samuel Jr.
Rasul Douglas
Mike Hilton
Stephon Gilmore
Kendall Fuller
Shaquill Griffin
Jack Jones
Arthur Maulet
Emmanuel Moseley
James Bradberry
Daryl Worley
Amani Oruwariye
Troy Hill
Cameron Sutton
Michael Davis
Greg Stroman
Ka'dar Hollman
Caleb Farley
Fabian Moreau
Justin Hardee
Chris Lammons
Kendall Sheffield
Eli Apple
Tavierre Thomas
Antonio Hamilton
Myles Bryant
Tre Flowers
C.J. Henderson
Trayvon Mullen
Harrison Hand
Andre Chachere
Christian Matthew
Zyon Gilbert
Levi Wallace
Even if Samuel isn't an option, it seems there are enough starting-caliber corners on the market to let us go another direction in the draft. Griffin is no difference-maker but I'd feel pretty good with a corner room of Murphy, Rodgers, Blackmon, Okudah, Griffin and McGlothern. Replace Griffin with Fuller or Douglas or Hilton or Jones, same thing.
Jack Jones, IIRC, is a guy the brass was high on. I believe they put in a waiver claim on him last year. if they don't go in on Samuel, it's possible they try to sign Jones.
The artist formerly known as PurpleCrush.
Update on Asante Samuel Jr. He just got surgery last month: https://t.co/N9gzuNQ9nI
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) May 13, 2025
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”
Shakespeare
I mean I wouldn't be opposed to a 1-yr incentive laden deal. Maybe he's up for it to play on a good defense and show teams he's past the neck injury? Gotta believe the Vikings are one of the few teams with a need, great coaching, awesome facilities, and a team that is ready to contend for a Super Bowl.
StickierBuns wrote:
Not sure why anyone would put any serious guaranteed money into the kid. Way too risky. Will he agree to an incentive laden deal? Probably won't have to as some dipshit organization will pony up in a dumb way.
Texans just gave out the first fully guaranteed contract to a second rounder. There’s always someone stupid enough.
My first question is can he pass a medical examination. If I’m a team doctor I’m going to be pretty hesitant to do so.
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here”
Shakespeare
I get the feeling one or more teams interested in signing him before the draft demanded he have the surgery before they give him a contract. I'm betting the Vikings are one of the teams he'll meet with in July to see how it went.
Have we seen any injury updates on Samuel? Everything I've read is he's willing to sign a one year prove it deal when he's medically cleared. He was supposed to have an update in July but we haven't heard anything. The neck injury bothers me even if cleared if it impacts his desire to make hard tackles but he's a talented player especially with a Defensive front that is surely going to cause chaos.
Mattyman wrote:
Shaq Griffin is 30 and signed a one year 3 million dollar deal with Seahawks.Unsure why Vikings said no thanks, cuz right now Griffin would've helped a lot. We'll see?
I think BFlo's relentless pressure and confusion probably made our '24 DBs look a little better than they really were. The Vikings could still add secondary help after we see who hits the streets tomorrow. CB1 and 2 look solid. It's CB3 that is the big questions mark with the uncertainty surrounding Okudah, and then also Blackmon not really looking like the same guy he was his rookie season.
An update on Asante Samuel: He's scheduled to undergo a CT scan in October to ensure successful spinal fusion. At that point, he will look to sign with a team for the second half of the year. Several teams have kept in touch. https://t.co/KveeGOJeuB
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 26, 2025
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