Washington to sign WR Curtis Samuel to three-year, $34.5M deal

Curtis Samuel has found his new home. The free-agent wideout and former Panther is signing with Washington, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report. Samuel received a three-year deal worth $34.5M, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, and Joseph Person of The Athletic notes that Samuel can earn up to $35.25M, with $24.5M guaranteed.

Washington has been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Samuel throughout the offseason. After all, WFT head coach and former Panthers HC Ron Rivera has shown a propensity for recruiting players from his old team, and Rapoport notes that Rivera actually tried to trade for Samuel last season. Washington also struggled to find a second receiver to pair with top wideout Terry McLaurin in 2020. Now, the offense will feature two of the most dynamic receivers in the NFL, both of whom were members of Ohio State’s 2014 recruiting class.

Samuel, a 2017 second-round pick, has progressively improved his numbers during each of his four NFL seasons. That culminated in a 2020 campaign in which he finished with a career-high 1,051 yards from scrimmage to go along with five touchdowns. Samuel also garnered a career-high 41 rushing attempts, showcasing his ability to serve as a Swiss Army Knife-type weapon.

WFT is still on the lookout for a long-term answer at quarterback — the agelessness of new signee Ryan Fitzpatrick notwithstanding — but the club is quietly assembling a strong foundation of skill-position talent. McLaurin, Samuel, and recent draftees Kelvin Harmon and Antonio Gandy-Golden give Washington an intriguing young WR group, while 2020 third-round running back Antonio Gibson demonstrated plenty of promise in his rookie campaign.

The Panthers, meanwhile, have spent the early days of free agency fortifying their offensive and defensive fronts. Carolina remains in hot pursuit of Deshaun Watson, and even with Samuel no longer in the mix, the team still has a fair amount of skill-position talent with the likes of Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson.