PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He tried out for a number of teams, but decided Steelers was the best place for him. After a couple weeks on the practice squad, Asante Samuel, Junior could start on Sunday after the reported release of Darius Slay Tuesday (Tom Pelissero, NFL Network).
The 35-year-old Slay was signed for $10 million this offseason after winning a Super Bowl with the Eagles. Slay missed due to concussion and was a healthy scratch on Sunday and Samuel ended up playing with the first-team after James Pierre went out with his own concussion.
Pierre’s status is up in the air for Sunday at Baltimore, that would leave the Chargers second-round pick in 2021 as the Steelers starter with 2023 Steelers second-round pick Joey Porter, Junior on the other side.
The 5’10”, 180-pound Samuel got 28 defensive snaps against Buffalo finishing with three tackles. It was his first NFL game since September of 2024, as he has recovered from spinal surgery.
“It was getting my feet under me,” Samuel said. “I felt good, we just didn’t win. That was my main focus, so obviously it wasn’t enough.”
Just turning 26 in October, Samuel didn’t find out until Saturday the coaches would bench Slay and activate him off the practice squad. He’s practiced since signing with the Steelers on November 11.
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“Do whatever I can do,” Samuel said of the last couple of weeks. “Just work hard and to maximize each and every day.”
“I’ve been working hard since I got here. Before I got here I was working hard to make sure my conditioning was up to date. It is a little different on the field, but I felt like I was good.”
In his first four seasons with the Chargers, Samuel played in 50 games (47 starts) with 176 tackles (148 solo) with six interceptions and 37 passes defensed.