One move Les Snead can still make after the NFL trade deadline expires

The NFL trade deadline is over, and the Los Angeles Rams stood pat on what they had in terms of roster personnel. No big trades, no headliners. The team resisted the urge to pry elite cornerback Sauce Gardner from the New York Jets, despite the trade being very similar to a trade made in 2019 for then elite cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

Ultimately, the trade for Tennessee Titans slot cornerback Roger McCreary may have been enough to set this defense on track to stymie the best NFL offenses the rest of the way. If not, general manager Les Snead has one more option. It seems as though free agent cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. is now medically cleared to return to the NFL.

But there are two catches to signing him. It seems that the Green Bay Packers are wasting no time and have already scheduled him to work out for the team, which they hope will lead to signing him to a contract.

If Los Angeles views him as an option, it has to act fast and alert his agent that they want to schedule a workout as well.

The second catch is more subtle.

Signing a cornerback mid-season who has been away from football for over a year does not offer a plug-and-play acquisition.

Asante Samuel Jr. may be an under-the-radar ideal acquisition for Rams

General manager Les Snead understands the critical need for depth and duplicity of talent for a championship competitive team. Right now, LA's secondary is not quite at a level of being overflowing with talent. But with the sudden success of cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and the overall stingy performance of the defense in recent weeks, the team did not have an urgent need to overpay for additionaal help. .

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman made multiple moves to improve his team's roster. Snead takes a different approach, measuring twice and trading once. But he has cleverly reinforced the secondary with minimal investment,

Samuel fits Snead's current trend of collecting some of the top young cornerbacks from recent drafts. Samuel was one of the top corners selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, the 47th overall player selected by the Los Angeles Chargers.

He played four seasons for the Chargers, but his 2024 season was cut short to just four games due to an injury. He's had corrective surgery, and now is cleared to compete in football once again.

LA anticipates cornerback Darious Williams returning to a starting role this week, and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon is due back from IR at the end of November.Samuel is not going to be ready to compete instantly. But with committed practice, he could be ready for a rotational role by season's end - much like Emmanuel Forbes Jr. was in 2024.

For now, the defense is good to go. But one more injury changes everything. Asante Samuel Jr. may not be a player feels must be added to have a chance of winning Super Bowl LX. But if the team has any interest, it has to act, now.

As always, thanks for reading.