Washington Football Team signs former Panthers WR Curtis Samuel

The Washington Football Team has made an anticipated addition to their wide receiver core.

The Washington Football Team came into free agency needing an upgrade to their receiving core. Aside from Terry McLaurin, there were no quality returning starters. Washington avoided the position for two days, instead adding a quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick and a cornerback in William Jackson III.

Part of the delay with the receiver market was due to the saturation of talent this offseason; the 2021 NFL Draft is expected to be incredibly deep, and the free agent class is deep as well. But eventually, some of the dominoes were due to fall, and one of those fell in D.C. this past hour.

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Washington Football Team has signed former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Curtis Samuel to a deal. The deal spans over three years, and is worth a total of $34.5 million, which equates to just over $11 million annually.

For Washington, who still had over $20 million left in cap space before the deal, this deal is very cost-effective, and it also results in the addition of a young, high-upside wide receiver, who provides versatility and an immediate influx of talent into the slot.

Samuel, who turns 25 years old this August, has hauled in 185 catches for 2,087 yards and 14 touchdowns in four seasons. He’s also carried the ball 72 times for 485 yards and five scores. In 2020, with Joe Brady as his offensive coordinator, Samuel had his best season, catching 77 passes for 851 yards and three touchdowns.

Samuel is trending up, and he offers elite athletic talent to compliment the Washington Football Team’s current weapons. Samuel has decent size at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, and at the NFL Combine in 2017, Samuel logged a 4.31 40-yard dash, 119-inch broad jump, and a 37-inch vertical jump.

Samuel is fast, explosive, and incredibly multifaceted as an offensive threat, and Scott Turner has familiarity with the former Panther, so he’ll be able to hit the ground running with his implementation of the Ohio State product. Now, with the slot filled, the focus turns to who will start opposite Terry McLaurin on the boundary.

Regardless of how the Washington Football Team fills that void, they can take comfort in the fact that Samuel will be available to them. And as he nears his prime, his dynamic talents should only become more pivotal. Overall, this is an excellent signing, and it helps to set the foundation for an improved offense in 2021.