[sportscurmudgeon]

You need to think about Samuels' contract in the context of the team. The QB next year will be Patrick Ramsey. All of the potential he has shown some people here which convinces them that he will be a Hall of Fame QB some day is in his arm and none of it is in his legs. Peo-le here have criticized Drew Bledsoe for being immobile and being a "sitting duck" in the pocket; Ramsey is only marginally better! SO...

If you were going to cut Samuels - that was the only real alternative given his cap number and the huge hit that Coles was going to give the Skins based on the Coles/Moss trade - you had to be 110% guaranteed mortal-lock certain that you had a fully competent LT to put in there on day one. Because if not, Patrick Ramsey would be staring up at clouds with a dazed look in his eyes before Thanksgiving.

Is there a reserve OT on the squad ready to step in and be a fully competent performance at LT? I didn't see one rotate through the RT merry-go-round last year, but I'd be happy to defer to the coaching staff on that question. But if the answer isn't, "Absolutely! Joe Flabeetz is ready to do the job on every snap of the ball," then all the Skins could do is suck it up and pay Samuels what he asked for.

Oh, and remember, they could have had him for about $3M less in bonus money with the last year of the deal as a team option had they not decided to "play hardball" with him in the negotiations in January...