It stands to reason that retired cornerback Asante Samuel would harbor no love for the Dolphins, a division rival of his for the primary five years of his profession in Recent England. Regardless, his free agent son, former Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., should still have the door open to returning to his hometown team.
In a recent episode of his podcast, Say What Needs To Be Said, the elder Samuel did just that. In response to Miami’s recent trade with Pittsburgh, Samuel was critical of the team’s leadership, calling head coach Mike McDaniel a “pushover” and accusing general manager Chris Grier of getting “no backbone.” He claimed that the team cannot “rise up to the players…are fearful of their very own players, and…don’t have any control over their players.”
The rant comes a month after reports that the Dolphins were involved in adding his son to the roster. Even before Jalen Ramsey‘s departure, there have been serious concerns concerning the team’s depth at cornerback, and after Ramsey’s departure, adding a cornerback with starting experience seems like a priority in Miami. The group is currently led by Kader Kohou, Cam Smith, Artie Burns, second-year undrafted corner Storm Duck, and rookie fifth-round pick Jason Marshall Jr.
Despite his father’s potential disapproval, Samuel doesn’t appear to carry the identical animosity of his namesake. A recent comment on Samuel’s social media pleaded with him to disregard his father’s comments and join the Dolphins, and Samuel just like the comment. Adding context to the interaction, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald passed on that, in his last check-in with Samuel a month ago, “there was nothing…to suggest he wouldn’t consider Miami if the Dolphins make a suggestion.”
Jackson adds that there was contact between the 2 parties this offseason, so it doesn’t appear to be a stretch to assume Samuel returning home to South Florida. If Miami does make a suggestion that Samuel accepts, one wonders if we’ll see his father sport a Dolphins jersey in support of his son.