Samuel apparentledy wanted to stay in Philadelphia, but instead will land in the NFC South. (US Presswire)

On Tuesday, we told you that the Falcons had shown interest in acquiring cornerback Asante Samuel from Philadelphia after the two teams had talked for the past couple days.

Naturally, after that report surfaced, Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes almost immediately signed his $10.2 million franchise tag.

Now, as CBSSports.com's Clark Judge is reporting, that Falcons-Eagles trade is nearly complete. According to various reports, it sounds like the Eagles would receive a sixth-round pick in exchange for Samuel.

Considering Samuel still is a top-notch cover cornerback, you might think a late-round draft pick is tiny compensation for a player of Samuel’s caliber. But Samuel, in his current contract, is owed $21.5 million for the final two years of his Eagles deal, and it’s almost a certainty that the Falcons would restructure that contract (especially since the team has virtually no room in their salary cap). Plus, Samuel is 31, and the Falcons will have to wonder how long Samuel will continue to be a standout player.

You also have to wonder how the Falcons, who immediately become one of the best secondaries in the league with the addition of Samuel, will divvy up snaps for Samuel, Grimes and Dunta Robinson. Somebody, after all, will have to play in the slot, and according to Pro Football Focus, the last time Robinson did so regularly was in 2008.

While Robinson was a big-time acquisition for the Falcons before the 2010 season, he also hasn’t played great, leading to speculation that he would play the slot (and because Samuel and Grimes are so good on the outside). Of course, it remains to be seen how effective Robinson could be in that role (and if he could continue his ability to illegally give opposing receivers concussions on dirty hits).

“As far as Asante Samuel is concerned, I can only speak from having played against him a number of times, and I know that he’s been extremely difficult to play against,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said, via the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Apparently, Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff coveted Samuel last offseason, but the Eagles asking price of a second-round draft pick then was too much to bear.

Even though nearly everyone seems to make fun of Samuel’s inability to tackle (or lack of desire to do so), he still led the league in picks in 2009 and 2010. He might be getting older, but getting Samuel at a cheap price for very little compensation seems like a strong move by Atlanta.

UPDATE (1:38 p.m. ET): According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, here's what Samuel will be playing for in Atlanta.
That means Samuel will take a paycut, but it also means he'll have another year added on to his deal, perhaps giving him more security.

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