In one corner of the Falcons’ locker room, tight end Tony Gonzalez was holding court with reporters, telling them how he’s cherishing the last few weeks of his NFL career before heading into retirement.
Meanwhile cornerback Asante Samuel sat quietly in the opposite corner. Normally gregarious, he has avoided interviews, especially since he’s been dramatically marginalized during the Falcons’ shifting focus to young players.
Gonzalez and Samuel are accomplished veterans on the same team, but their experiences with the Falcons this season are far apart.
Gonzalez, 37, came back for a 17th and final NFL season for one more chance to win a Super Bowl. That’s not happening. The Falcons (3-10) are playing out a miserable season.
It probably lessens some of the sting that Gonzalez is getting the star treatment from the Falcons until the end. Coach Mike Smith, who allowed Gonzalez to skip the offseason program and most of training camp, said Gonzalez won’t be giving way in playing time to rookie understudy Levine Toilolo.
Samuel hadn’t played on a losing team in his previous 10 NFL seasons. During Atlanta’s 22-21 defeat at Green Bay on Sunday, he didn’t play a snap. Rookie Robert Alford replaced him in the lineup.
Samuel, 32, said he couldn’t remember the last time he didn’t play when healthy.
“It’s tough,” Samuel said. “I’m a competitor. I love to compete. But it is what it is.”
This could be the final weeks for Samuel with the Falcons. He has one more year on his contract but it includes a $3.5 million salary and a $1.675 roster bonus, which is not the kind of money a fourth or fifth cornerback can expect to see.
Samuel declined to discuss his future with the team but did say wants to keep playing.
“Yeah, but I’m not really thinking about it now though,” Samuel said.
In the meantime, Samuel is quietly going about his business. By all accounts, he’s doing what he can to help rookies Alford and Desmond Trufant and he’s not making waves about his benching.
“He’s not running around feeling some type of (negative) way about it,” Falcons safety William Moore said. “I know he’s a competitor and he wants to be out there. He knows the circumstances and what we have going on around here, as far as getting younger. That’s the name of the game.”
Samuel was gimpy coming out of training camp with a thigh injury, missed two games and has really never appeared physically sharp this season. Now that Alford has gained experience and improved, he may be a better option than Samuel now.
Samuel has always been able to make up for any physical limitations with a knack for reading plays and reacting. It’s a big reason he’s played so long in spite of his modest background (fourth-round pick out of Central Florida), smallish size and unexceptional speed.
There have been moments this season when it appears he has something left. But there have been fewer than in 2012, when the Falcons acquired him from the Eagles for a seventh-round draft pick.
Soon after that trade, a blog post in the Philadelphia Inquirer said then-Eagles coach Andy Reid let Samuel go for next-to-nothing because he believed Samuel was “in steep decline.” After Samuel ran back an interception 79 yards for a touchdown against Oakland in October, he wrote on his Twitter account: “Aint no decline over here.”
That was one of five interceptions in 2012 for Samuel, who also recorded 18 passes defended. That reflected Samuel’s highest combined total of interceptions and passes defended (23) since he had nine and 17, respectively, in 2009 with Philadelphia.
That was the second of four Pro Bowl seasons for Samuel. Now he’s reduced to coaching up Atlanta rookies and perhaps not playing another down for the Falcons.
If Samuel is upset about it, his teammates say he’s not showing it. Maybe that’s because, as Trufant noted, Samuel has played a long time, accomplished a lot and made a healthy living.
“I don’t think he’s hurt too much by it,” Trufant said, smiling. “I think he’s done all right.”
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