Breaking down Curtis Samuel’s fit with the Washington Football Team
Samuel came at a more-than-reasonable cost
The receiver market was set to be crowded this offseason, but with Allen Robinson and Chris Godwin getting slapped with the franchise tag, there were fewer options to go around at the position.
That created an interesting market dynamic. Either teams would outbid each other for the available receiver or a receiver market would take time to develop as a result of the 2021 NFL Draft, which is strong at the wide-out spot.
The latter occurred. Will Fuller, Kenny Golladay, and JuJu Smith-Schuster were all still available when the details of Samuel’s agreement were reported. Instead of the top dominoes falling and the options coming off the board quickly, teams were able to wait it out and get some cheaper deals.
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Samuel’s deal qualifies as such. He’s going to be paid $34.5 million over three years. That equates to an $11.5 million mark in average annual value. For context, he’s about $500K more expensive per year than Nelson Agholor, who signed with the New England Patriots earlier this offseason, and $1 million cheaper than Corey Davis, who signed with the New York Jets.
That’s a strong deal. Samuel is coming off a season that saw him total career-best marks in receptions (77) and receiving yards (851). He’s fast, explosive, and does a lot with the ball in his hands. Best of all, he’s still just 24!
Even without knowing the guarantees in this deal, we can safely assume that this was a good one for Washington. Samuel should well be worth every penny of this deal if he stays healthy. He has a great skill-set and fits well with the Football Team and fits the timeline of their rebuild.
Maybe getting a bigger X-type receiver would’ve helped Washington more, but at this cost, Samuel is a relative bargain.