Since the arrival of head coach Ron Rivera, Washington has made a habit of signing former Carolina Panthers players. Rivera, who coached Carolina from 2011-2019, has brought in plenty of Panthers players, therefore, creating the running joke of the “Washington Panthers.” Some players have worked out well for Washington. However, former Panthers’ wide receiver, Curtis Samuel, has been a heavily criticized signing for the Commanders.
Washington signs Samuel to 3 years $34.5 contact
In 2021, Washington signed Samuel to a three-year $34.5 contract. Even now, Washington has been desperately looking for a counterpart for star receiver Terry McLaurin, and they believe they found the perfect fit with Samuel. They both played for Ohio State. Samuel had the speed to take attract deep coverage and draw away double teams from McLaurin.
Samuel, at the time, was 24 years old, and pairing two young wide receivers together was even better news for Washington. He could be used in similar packages as Deebo Samuel. The possibilities were endless for Washington.
However, so far, it has not gone according to plan.
Curtis Samuel misses most of the 2021-2022 season
Curtis Samuel has not given fans much to see as he missed most of the 2021 season with a groin injury. When fans did see Samuel, it was indeed very limited.
Samuel is still not a 100%
Missing an entire season should help you prepare for the following season. This should be the case when the injury happened early on last season. However, Samuel is still not 100%. Samuel was seen working on the side field during training camp.
Furthermore, what is even more troublesome for Washington is this wasn’t because of his groin injury. Samuel is working back into “football shape.”
Washington did draft wide receiver Jahan Dotson in the 2022 draft. However, Washington signed Samuel with a decent-sized contract, and with salary cap being an issue, the Commanders are trying to salvage signing Curtis Samuel.
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