The Sporting News is reporting that free agent CB Asante Samuel is expected to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles shortly, initially claiming the deal was for $47.2 million and 5 years.  ESPN's John Clayton reports that it's a 6 year deal and in the neighborhood of $57 million.  Props to TSN for first breaking the news he was signed by the Eagles, though.  While it's certainly a big payday for Samuel, it's a far cry from the rumors we were hearing prior to this announcement of Samuel seeking a 10 year deal for $10 million or more per year.  At 27 years old, the deal will allow Samuel to hit the free agent market during his age 32 season, potentially leading to him getting one more semi-large deal depending on his performance in the Eagles' green and white.

It's surprising for Asante to sign a deal so soon; with at least the Bucs and Saints known to have expressed interest, you'd figure he would hold out a while longer to start a bidding war.  If the reports are true, it's a decent signing for the Eagles, but I tend to agree with other Samuel detractors in that he looked a lot better on the Patriots because of the defensive schemes BB et. al. employ.  Samuel's main criticism for the last few seasons has been that he's a product of the system; we'll see next year whether or not that critique is true.  We've seen that free agent defenders who jump ship and sign with teams that run different defensive systems (although they were a good deal older than Samuel at the time of their respective departures, Ty Law and Willie McGinest, to name a couple) tend to trend downward after leaving the Pats, so the same may well happen to Asante.  Overall, I wouldn't have wanted the Pats to commit that type of money to Samuel because, well, he's just not worth it.  However, Samuel's imminent departure does significantly add to the defensive woes of the Patriots as they now have glaring weaknesses, as well as just an overall lack of bodies, at the cornerback and linebacker positions.  Perhaps the Pats will now scramble to retain free agent CB Randall Gay, whose services will come much cheaper than Samuel's, or pull off a trade of some sort to address their needs.  Speaking of which...

With the impending signing of Samuel it becomes increasingly likely that the Eagles will actively shop CB Lito Sheppard, who is apparently unhappy with his current contract situation in Philly.  Eagles team rep's have said they have no interest in moving Sheppard but will consider offers if the right one comes along (so I guess that means they actually do have interest in moving Sheppard).  It's been rumored that the Pats have particular interest in Sheppard, so perhaps they can work out a deal with the Birds to acquire him.  Hopefully a deal could be orchestrated without having to use the Pats' first round draft pick, especially with ESPN Scouts Inc.'s latest mock draft having DE Vernon Gholston going to the Pats at the 7 spot.