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NFL Free Agency 2013: Saints Should Sign Nnamdi Asomugha if Available

Asomugha could be released, making him a free agent the Saints should target when the new league year begins.

Rich Schultz

Nnamdi Asomugha isn't technically a free agent.

Yet.

As of now, there are reports that say Nnamdi Asomugha is expected to be released from the Philadelphia Eagles. Owed $15 million this season his other option is to restructure and take a pay cut, but he knows that may not be in his best interest financially.

Asomugha would definitely be one of the premier free agent options this off-season if he were to hit the market. Although he has had a statistical drop off the past couple of years, he still has the skill-set to be a shut down corner. He shouldn't come at an unreasonable price either.

Team (Year) Games Tackles Interceptions Passes Defended
Raiders ('03) 15 28 0 0
Raiders ('04) 16 45 0 3
Raiders ('05) 16 60 0 14
Raiders ('06) 15 50 8 19
Raiders ('07) 15 34 1 7
Raiders ('08) 15 40 1 9
Raiders ('09) 16 34 1 4
Raiders ('10) 14 19 0 6
Eagles ('11) 16 40 3 5
Eagles ('12) 16 55 1 12

As you can see, Asomugha's best year was in 2006. Ironically, that was during Rob Ryan's tenure with the Raiders (2004-2008). So these two have a pre-existing relationship and obviously pretty good chemistry together. You can also see that in his ten year career, Nnamdi has only missed six total games. Patrick Robinson (6) and Jabari Greer (21) have missed a combined 27 games in their careers.

Having the 31st ranked passing defense last year, the Saints drastically need some upgrades. The cornerback position will now be more important than it has been in recent years because they'll most likely be left out on an island against opponent receivers in a one-on-one matchup a lot. Right now, they don't have a corner that I can completely trust in being capable of handling this. Of the two starters (Robinson and Greer), Robinson is definitely inferior. He was one out of only two corners in the NFL to allow over 1,000 yards combined from the receivers they covered, and he led the league in touchdowns allowed (9).

At 6'2", 210 lbs. Nnamdi Asomugha has excellent speed and range. His vision, reaction time, and catching abilities put the cherry on top. Now that the Saints are within range of the salary cap, it's not far fetched to believe they'd make a move on him.

Watch this highlight tape on Nnamdi. It'll make you want him even more.