Should the Bears take a chance on Asante Samuel Jr?

Asante Samuel Jr. was previously considered one of the league's rising stars at the cornerback position. Is he a worthy reclamation project for Chicago?

Sep 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. (26) walks the field before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Asante Samuel Jr. has been medically cleared to play after successful spinal fusion surgery in April, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Free agent CB Asante Samuel Jr. (spine) cleared to play, talking with several teams and could take visits this week https://t.co/3hXllik54H

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) November 3, 2025

Fowler reported that Samuel has been drawing interest across the league, and that's not exactly a surprising development. He's played at a starting-caliber level whenever healthy and nabbed two interceptions in each of his first three seasons. It also doesn't hurt that a few defenses across the NFL are playing abysmal levels. He should be able to step in and immediately help an ailing defense as soon as he puts pen to paper.

The Cowboys, Commanders, and Bengals are all in the midst of absolutely terrible seasons on the defensive side of the ball. They are hemorrhaging yards to opposing offenses at an alarming rate. Interestingly, the Bears have played all three teams this season (so Ben Johnson is obviously the sole reason for their struggles). Ironically, they've also been nearly just as bad when it comes to giving up yards. The only thing that sets the Bears apart is that they've been much better at forcing turnovers. In fact, they lead the league with 19 takeaways, which is remarkable considering the previous factoid.

It's also difficult to blame the Bears for struggling to slow down their opponent's passing attacks. Their top two cornerbacks, Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, have combined for a grand total of 101 snaps (out of 492) this season. Nahshon Wright, who was considered a long shot to even make the roster in the preseason, has started seven of eight games. Unsurprisingly, he's been exposed at times. That's where Asante Samuel Jr. comes in.

Samuel has started all but three of the 50 games he's played in throughout his career. The 2021 second-round selection is a good player who should have plenty left in the tank. There's very little concern of a drop in performance (besides expected rust after so much time away from the field) since he's been given a clean bill of health.

Even if his lingering shoulder injury, which was the reason for the spinal fusion surgery, isn't fully in the rear-view mirror, it still wouldn't be a liability for as long as he's in the lineup. At 5-3, the Bears are squarely in the playoff hunt. They already addressed Gordon's absence at nickel with last week's signing of CJ Gardner-Johnson. They would be wise to throw a one-year prove-it deal Samuel's way to see if he can be a quality band-aid on the outside.

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