Cut Chris Samuels

Celts, I agree that the LT position is absolutely vital to an offense's success. And I agree that Samuels is a hell of a player and I'd hate to see him go. But I disagree when you say that the Skins simply can't live without him. First off, Jim Molinaro and Mark Wilson were drafted for a reason, even if they were drafted in the later rounds. I remember a few Hogs coming from the later rounds of drafts as well.

Last season, Randy Thomas sat out a game with a leg injury, and Ray Brown moved to Guard and Mark Wilson took over at RT. Wilson played very well in that game; and reports from Redskin park indicate that Molinaro is actually further along than Wilson in the developmental process. I'm not saying Molinaro can replace Chris Samuels, but I'm saying you may have to give him a shot, because he just might come through.

It comes down to this: would you rather have Samuels with his $9 million cap hit, or would you rather go with Molinaro at LT, and have the cap room to resign Pierce and also likely have the cap room to find a replacement for Coles (like Derrick Mason).

We see the Patriots and Eagles having success by drafting guys and letting them step in when vets get too pricey. That is how you win in today's salary cap era. You've got to get rid of guys who are too expensive, and you've got to draft well and go with the young guys.

The only choice in my eyes is restructure Samuels, or he's out the door.

Celts, I agree that the LT position is absolutely vital to an offense's success. And I agree that Samuels is a hell of a player and I'd hate to see him go. But I disagree when you say that the Skins simply can't live without him. First off, Jim Molinaro and Mark Wilson were drafted for a reason, even if they were drafted in the later rounds. I remember a few Hogs coming from the later rounds of drafts as well.

Last season, Randy Thomas sat out a game with a leg injury, and Ray Brown moved to Guard and Mark Wilson took over at RT. Wilson played very well in that game; and reports from Redskin park indicate that Molinaro is actually further along than Wilson in the developmental process. I'm not saying Molinaro can replace Chris Samuels, but I'm saying you may have to give him a shot, because he just might come through.

It comes down to this: would you rather have Samuels with his $9 million cap hit, or would you rather go with Molinaro at LT, and have the cap room to resign Pierce and also likely have the cap room to find a replacement for Coles (like Derrick Mason).

We see the Patriots and Eagles having success by drafting guys and letting them step in when vets get too pricey. That is how you win in today's salary cap era. You've got to get rid of guys who are too expensive, and you've got to draft well and go with the young guys.

The only choice in my eyes is restructure Samuels, or he's out the door.


You hit it right on the nose. I can't agree more. Restructure or he's gone. We have to move back in the direction of how the old Skins were, with no superstars (look at the Patriots). Dont get me wrong, I like Samuels alot, but he has got to understand the position of the team. It might be scary to make some of these moves, but it has to be done. You never know, this might be just what we need. Young guys who love the game, and will do anything for the team. With Gibbs at the healm, I am confident that he will make the right choices as far as choosing the right replacements.

Samuels is going to be eating over $9M in cap space this season unless he restructures. I don't care how great a player is, you can't have one guy taking up that much space.

If he doesn't restructure you have to release him and figure out a plan B. Hopefully Wilson or Molinaro will be ready, or you take a look at the available free agents, or you shuffle the line and perhaps move Jansen to LT.

Disagree strongly. Other than QB, LT may be the hardest position on a football team to fill...

Wow. Are you his agent? :oink:

one guy taking up 10% of the teams cap space.... not good.... be GONE

The left tackle is, aside from the quarterback, perhaps the most important player on any team. Samuels is a damn good left tackle (he allowed just one sack last season) and his sub-par 2003 season is mitigated by the fact that he had serious knee and ankle problems throughout the season. The guy isn't a top 5 tackle, but he can be dominant.

I do not believe that we can bank on Molinaro or Wilson filling in for Samuels. Yes, the Redskins have a keen eye for scouting offensive line talent, but that doesn't mean we should be ready to proclaim Molinaro or Wilson the next Joe Jacoby and Russ Grimm. Mark Wilson was inactive for 14 games last year and Jim Molinaro didn't start (or get significant playing time in) a single game last season. Is anyone really ready to say one of these guys can start 16 games in lieu of Samuels?

While I don't want to see the Redskins overpay to keep Samuels, face it, left tackles don't come cheap. The Colts' lef tackle Ryan Diem just got a $12,000,000 signing bonus and a deal worth somewhere around $40,000,000. Samuels will argue that he should get a sweeter deal than Diem did and I would agree.

Given that cutting Samuels will cost us about $2,500,000 and we lack solid depth at tackle, I think we should wary of letting the guy go. Free agents of Samuels' caliber don't come around often and given Gibbs' system, we need the best offensive linemen we can afford.

So let's no break the bank, but let's also remember that Samuels IS an important player at a crucial position.

I say cut him and let Ray Brown play left tackle!! :):):) Seriously though, with the Coles situation we have now....i say we cut Samuels and get what we can for coles.

Given that cutting Samuels will cost us about $2,500,000 and we lack solid depth at tackle, I think we should wary of letting the guy go. Free agents of Samuels' caliber don't come around often and given Gibbs' system, we need the best offensive linemen we can afford.

According to my numbers, cutting Samuels would save around $4 million against this season's cap. You could surely fit Antonio Pierce into $4 million, and you would have some room to spare for use on a WR like Mason. If you were only saving $2.5 million by cutting him like you're suggesting, I'd agree with you, but I think it saves a bit more.

I don't think nearly as highly of Chris Samuels as others here do. He is a good LT but not outstanding. And in no way is he worth a cap number of $&M or more.


HOW-EVAH (as Stephen A. Smith would say), before you cut him you damned well be 100% sure that you have a COMPETENT replacement for him for the following reason:

Next year Patrick Ramsey will be the full time QB. Patrick Ramsey is right handed and so the LT guards his blind side AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, Patrick Ramsey is like a cigar store Indian back there. If the LT is getting beaten five times a game, Ramsey is not likely to make it to Thanksgiving.


So, the FO has itself an interesting sonundrum to solve here. But the key to all this is to have that replacement LT in hand before Chris Samuels is tossed overboard.

Oh, I forgot, the stud that the Skins signed who was going to be able to play every OL position and challenge for a starting job just got cut. The Vaughn Parker Era is over.

Samuels is more important to the Redskins long term success than Pierce. Pierce did a very nice job, but the biggest reason the Redskins defense was good is Greg Williams not any particular player. I am not ready to hope a 2nd year late round draft pick can start at LT which is the second most important position on the team. Samuels contract sucks, but he is a player I can not see the Redskins winning without next season. I would not release him under any circumstances. I would release Lavar Arrington before Samuels and Lavar is my favorite current player on the team.

I thought we were trying to rebuild and develop Ramsey here, yet we are talking about throwing an unproven player out there to protect his blind side? Come on now. The Redskins cap is not in great shape by any means, but Samuels is way to important to release.