The Green Bay Packers might not have found any cornerback trades that suited their liking before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, but they are already turning their attention to one of the best — and newly available — free agents.
According to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, the Packers are “looking into the possibility” of signing former Los Angeles Chargers cornerback and top-50 pick Asante Samuel Jr. after the league’s trade deadline passed at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday afternoon.
“According to a source, the Packers are looking into the possibility of signing free-agent cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.,” Schneidman wrote Tuesday night. “Samuel, a 26-year-old 2021 second-round pick of the Chargers, was recently cleared for football activity after undergoing spinal fusion surgery in April, according to ESPN.”
Samuel — the No. 47 pick in 2021 — recorded six interceptions, 35 pass breakups and 163 total tackles in his first three seasons with the Chargers, starting in 43 games. In 2024, though, he missed 13 games with shoulder and neck injuries that he described as a “stinger,” which later led to the spinal fusion surgery that Schneidman mentioned.
If Samuel is back in the clear, though, the Packers are certainly in a good position to offer him meaningful playing time, given their injuries and struggles at cornerback.
Nate Hobb Expected to Miss Time With Knee Injury
The Packers were not having the best results with their gamble at cornerback before Week 9’s upset loss to the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately for them, though, things only grew worse with the injury that veteran free-agent signing Nate Hobbs sustained.
Hobbs appeared to injure his left knee in the third quarter of Sunday’s 16-13 loss after taking a block from Panthers offensive tackle Yosh Nijman. While he came back and played six more snaps in the fourth quarter, Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette later reported that Hobbs will miss at least the next two games with a sprained MCL.
“After playing through knee pain for the past month, Green Bay Packers cornerback Nate Hobbs is expected to miss at least the next two games with a sprained MCL, a source told PackersNews,” Wood wrote Monday, adding that it is not the same knee that Hobbs had surgery on in the summer and that his pain started in Week 4’s tie.
Packers Are Too Thin at CB to Avoid Making a Move
With Hobbs sidelined, the Packers have even less depth in a cornerback room that had already looked shaky through the first nine weeks of the 2025 regular season.
Carrington Valentine has shown promise for the secondary, but inconsistency has plagued veteran Keisean Nixon in his first season as their crowned No. 1 cornerback. Meanwhile, Hobbs had brought more problems than solutions to the table, perhaps because of the knee issue that we now know had plagued him for the past month.
Behind them, the Packers only have two cornerbacks on their 53-man roster: converted wide receiver Bo Melton (who adds special teams value) and backup Kamal Hadden.
Even if Nixon steadies and Valentine continues his ascent, that is far too thin for a team that is trying to maximize its contention window and currently leading the NFC North. Samuel could provide an answer for the Packers, but they will need to keep “looking” if they decide not to sign him. Depth is now a necessity with Hobbs out of the mix.
The Packes will host the Philadelphia Eagles for Monday Night Football in Week 10.
Insider Reveals Packers Are ‘Looking Into’ Signing Ex-Chargers Starting CB