NFL · 6 hours ago

Asante Samuel Jr. Has an Opening and Pittsburgh Might Have Something Here

Bo Marchionte

Host · Writer

Asante Samuel Jr. Has an Opening And Pittsburgh Might Have Something Here

There was nothing spectacular about the way Asante Samuel Jr. described the interception.

That might be the interesting part.

“We was in the man type of coverage, and I just seen a guy break off the route, and I trusted my instincts and jumped.”

That guy throwing the football was Aaron Rodgers.

Samuel jumped it. Ball gone. Practice interception.

For a cornerback whose first Steelers season was mostly about getting his body right and finding his footing, those few seconds offered a pretty clean snapshot of what Pittsburgh hopes Year 2 looks like.

Because suddenly, Samuel isn’t merely depth.

With Joey Porter Jr. and the Steelers still stalled in contract negotiations, Samuel has an opening. A real one.

And this isn’t some mystery player Pittsburgh is trying to manufacture into an NFL cornerback.

Samuel has already been one.

A second-round pick by the Chargers in 2021, he intercepted six passes over his first three NFL seasons. He defended 35 passes during that stretch and produced perhaps the strangest masterpiece of his career in the 2022 playoffs: three interceptions in one half against Jacksonville.

The ability has never been particularly difficult to locate.

Keeping it on the field has been.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEPTH AND DANGER

Samuel’s 2024 season lasted four games before a shoulder injury landed him on injured reserve. By the time he arrived in Pittsburgh in November 2025, the Steelers weren’t exactly receiving a finished product gift-wrapped for Sunday afternoon.

They were getting somebody trying to become himself again.

“Basically, that I’m healthy,” Samuel said when asked what he’s showing now. “I came last year, like around November, you know, still get my feet under me.”

That changes the context considerably.

Pittsburgh now gets a full offseason with him. A full camp. A healthy player instead of one trying to catch a moving train in November.

Samuel’s goal isn’t particularly exotic, either.

“Just showing them consistency day in and day out that I’m gonna come to work every day and just grind, keep my head down and just do what I can to make the team better.”

Then there’s Rodgers.

Picking him off is nice. Understanding why you picked him off is better.

Samuel trusted what he saw and attacked it. Against a quarterback with Rodgers’ experience, hesitation usually turns an opportunity into a completion.

“You know, it’s always great going against Aaron, one of the greatest players ever,” Samuel said. “So anytime I get him, I feel like I’m one step to my goal and being the best I can be.”

Rodgers apparently isn’t keeping the information to himself, either.

Samuel said he’ll take advice from anybody, but Rodgers carries a little different weight. The quarterback wants Pittsburgh’s defensive backs operating at a high level because iron sharpening iron isn’t just locker-room wallpaper. Better corners give Rodgers better work.

“Why don’t you want your corners and DBs to be at top notch so you can get the best look you can?”

Fair point.

PATRICK GRAHAM GETS ANOTHER PIECE TO MOVE

This is where Samuel becomes interesting beyond the Porter contract situation.

Patrick Graham doesn’t need Samuel to become somebody else.

He needs the healthy version.

“He’s a great leader. He’s a great communicator,” Samuel said of Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator. “He knows how to talk to us and make us understand what he sees the vision of us.”

That vision will change. Samuel acknowledged the wrinkles will come throughout the season. That’s football.

But Pittsburgh now has a 26-year-old corner with 38 career pass breakups and seven regular-season interceptions who finally gets to enter a Steelers season from the front door instead of sneaking in through November.

And Samuel has a little edge to him.

Asked about the chatter that comes with lining up across from somebody, he smiled at the premise.

“I’m kind of to myself, but if a guy’s talking to me, I’m gonna talk back.”

Perfect.

No need to invent anything bigger.

Porter’s contract situation has created an opening. Samuel’s health has created an opportunity.

And on one practice snap against Aaron Rodgers, his eyes created the rest.