Redskins should be interested in trading for wide receiver Curtis Samuel

Teams are reportedly calling the Carolina Panthers about potential trades involving Curtis Samuel. Could the Washington Redskins pull the trigger on a deal for the right price?

The Washington Redskins could use another receiver for their roster. While the triage of Terry McLaurin, Steven Sims Jr., and Kelvin Harmon all produced as rookies and showed upside, the team seemingly needs one more receiver to have a complete, solid four-man unit.

That’s one of the reasons that they had an interest in Amari Cooper this offseason. He would’ve been a long-term partner for McLaurin and could’ve afforded the team the opportunity to use Harmon as a top-flight backup.

That didn’t end up happening. But perhaps a different veteran receiver will come to Washington instead.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Carolina Panthers, who have been open to deals this offseason, could consider trading wide receiver Curtis Samuel. Here’s what Rapoport said about the possibility on Twitter.

This is far from a definite thing. But if the Panthers and new head coach Matt Rhule are willing to move Samuel, then the Redskins should be interested.

Ron Rivera and Scott Turner know Samuel well from their time together in Carolina. The former second-round pick has improved in each of his three seasons and has blossomed into a playmaker at receiver. He mostly played running back in college and still takes his share of direct snaps and jet sweeps. And that type of versatility could be valuable for the Redskins.

Last season, Samuel had 54 catches for 627 yards and six touchdowns while playing with an injured Cam Newton, Kyle Allen, and Will Grier as his top quarterbacks. That’s not too bad, especially when considering that he added another 130 rushing yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

Samuel would add another element of speed and versatility to the Redskins offense. Turner would already know how to use him and how to get him involved early and often to take some pressure of Dwayne Haskins. And having a veteran around who knows the system would surely give Haskins a chance to find success right off the bat.

Though he’s a veteran, Samuel is still just 23 and won’t turn 24 until August. So, he’ll have a chance to continue to improve and may not hit his prime for another couple of years. That’s definitely a selling point for any team that may want him.

The only issue with getting Samuel would be the price. In this deep receiver class, no team is going to want to sacrifice too many resources for Samuel. He’s a good player, but there may be other younger, cheaper players that teams could grab instead of sacrificing a pick to get him.

The cheaper aspect may be the most important thing here. Samuel is entering the final year of his contract and is set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2021. So, any team that acquires Samuel would have to extend him in order to keep him around beyond this year. That would surely know the price down a peg or two.

At the end of the day, the Redskins should still explore a Samuel deal. He is young, dynamic, and knows the team’s offensive system. But if they’re going to try to get him, they shouldn’t surrender anything more than a fifth-round pick at most because of the receiving depth in this class.

The Panthers would probably rather keep Samuel around instead of getting a fifth-round pick for his services. So, a deal at this point doesn’t seem all too likely. But it’s still fun to hypothesize about potential trade targets as the 2020 NFL Draft continues.