The Eagles pounced, not giving other teams an opportunity to host Samuel on a visit. He was whisked to Philadelphia on a private jet at 9 a.m. yesterday, picked up in a limousine, and signed, sealed, and delivered before dinner time.
"This is my first time being a free agent. They say that your first visit they normally don't let you leave. That's what ended up happening and it's a great situation," said Samuel.
"When you come to one that makes you happy, why wait around?"
Samuel said four other teams were on his list, but wouldn't directly answer a question as to whether the Patriots made him an offer. It seemed clear that the Patriots were not really in the mix to re-sign Samuel, who sought a big payday last offseason but was slapped with the franchise tag.
"New England has a philosophy that's right for them. New England groomed a masterpiece and put it on the market," said Alonzo Shavers, Samuel's agent.
Samuel never blinked in his showdown with the Patriots after being franchised, refusing to sign his $7.79 million tender until the team amended it with provisions that he couldn't be franchised again if he played 60 percent of the defensive snaps or the Patriots won 12 games. He missed a month of training camp before reporting Aug. 27 and wasn't officially in the fold until the next day, when the Patriots included the franchise outs in his contract.
It was a shrewd move on Samuel's part, as the Patriots went 16-0 during the regular season.
That's not to say that Samuel, who joined the Patriots as a fourth-round pick out of Central Florida in 2003, didn't earn the opportunity to bolster his bank account.
Samuel leaves New England ranked 10th on the team's all-time interceptions list (regular season only) with 22 - matching his jersey number - in 75 games.
The dreadlocked defensive back proved that his 2006 season, in which seven of his NFL-leading 10 interceptions came in the final six regular-season games, wasn't a fluke. Despite not having the benefit of playing in a preseason game, Samuel finished with a team-high six interceptions and 18 passes defended in 2007 and was selected to his first Pro Bowl.
