The last few years of Asante Samuel Jr.’s NFL career have been bumpy. The young cornerback started his career well with the Los Angeles Chargers. But in his fourth year in 2024, he played in just four games. The following April, Samuel underwent spinal-fusion surgery. Teams were cautious to touch him as he healed from such a serious surgery.
It took until November of last year for Samuel to find a home, latching on with the Steelers. And he wasn’t elevated to the 53-man roster until the end of that month. But after hitting the field, Samuel did well enough to convince the Steelers to bring him back this offseason. Now that he can go through a full NFL offseason again, Samuel is very excited.
“I feel like with me, just to get my full year back, just a full year of OTAs, training camp, just working on my craft, and getting back to how I was going into my fourth year, you know what I’m saying? I’m just glad to be back. I feel like I try to maximize every day on the field, and every game,” Samuel said on The Christian Kuntz Podcast. “I don’t wanna limit myself at all…It’s like I got a clean slate again.”
Asante Samuel will surely want to recapture the momentum he was riding after his first three years. He was very consistent for Los Angeles during that span. Samuel missed just five games across those three years while coming away with 35 passes defended, six interceptions and 163 tackles.
The Steelers eased him back into action in 2025. He played in six games and provided solid depth. Samuel was on the field for 222 defensive snaps in total, and he had his moments. He formally announced himself with an interception early in the Steelers’ dominant Monday Night Football win over Miami.
Even with a new coaching staff in town, Pittsburgh worked fast to keep Samuel around, bringing him back on a modest one-year deal. Joey Porter Jr. and Jamel Dean will start out wide. But Samuel has a chance to be the top backup behind them. He could see some work in the slot, too, depending on how the depth chart shakes out.
Either way, it’s something of a “prove it” year for Asante Samuel. He had some nice moments last year, finally able to start playing football again. Now, Samuel is excited to have a full offseason of workouts and training camp ahead of him. If he can get back to the level he was two years ago, the Steelers might have a steal on their hands.
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