It’s not easy living on the left edge for Chris Samuels.
DeMarcus Ware awaits him this fall. So do Trent Cole, Julius Peppers, Osi Umenyiora and every other top pass rusher. They all want to beat the six-time Pro Bowler to earn their own trip to Miami.
But game days may be easier than training camp. Between Washington Redskins rookie linebacker Brian Orakpo trying to speed rush outside and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth on the inside, the left tackle’s workouts are workovers.
Samuels needs to keep his head on a swivel. They’re trying to serve it on a plate.
It has been 10 years since LaVar Arrington and Samuels were taken with the second and third picks respectively. They were supposed to be the decade’s cornerstones.
It proved half right. Arrington made three Pro Bowls before injuries and a contract dispute sent him to the New York Giants in 2006. A motorcycle accident soon ended his career. Arrington now is a sports radio talker and owns a restaurant in the shadow of FedEx Field.
Samuels, 32, has quietly become the senior Redskin following fellow tackle Jon Jansen’s release in June. Samuels now is an aging veteran, second only to 33-year-old guard Randy Thomas on the line.
“It has gone by fast. It seems like yesterday I was drafted with LaVar,” he said. “Time is flying by. I don’t have long to win a Super Bowl and time is short. We’re getting older, but we have a lot of days to play yet.”
The glimpse of aging comes during two-a-days. Samuels once declared that former coach Marty Schottenheimer’s twice daily workouts in near 100-degree heat wouldn’t break a son of Alabama. Now, Samuels arrived in camp 30 pounds lighter to combat not only aging, but also the climate.
“Every time you get a little bit older you better come over in a little better shape,” he said. “I was talking to [former New York Giants nemesis] Michael Strahan a few years ago and he told me the best thing he did was lose weight.”
Samuels missed the final three games last season with a torn triceps. Finishing on injured reserve still irks him eight months later.
“I just came in with the mindset to reprove myself,” he said. “Last year wasn’t a good year for the offensive line and myself.”
That’s bad news for Ware, Cole, Peppers and Umenyiora.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected]
