LATROBE, Pa. — Asante Samuel Jr. sat at home last year as teams reported to training camp, watching the league leave him behind.Drafted 47th by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021, the cornerback overcame questions about his 5-10, 180-pound frame to become a four-year starter. But four weeks into 2024 season, his career reached a crossroads: A collision at practice sidelined Samuel. Pain radiated from his neck through his shoulders and down his arms. After missing the remainder of the 2024 season, he ultimately decided to undergo spinal fusion surgery — a procedure that joins two or more vertebrae in the spine. By the time the 2025 season began, Samuel still wasn’t cleared to play.“I was missing it,” Samuel says. “I love football. I think about football all day, every day. It hurt me not to be out there at training camp and missing a lot of games like that. I feel like that built the fire in me when I came back last year, just trying to make the most out of the opportunities.”While not every team was willing to clear Samuel medically, Steelers team neurosurgeon Dr. David Okonkwo performed the procedure. Pittsburgh signed him to the practice squad in mid-November and by early December he was in the lineup. He went on to start three games, play in six and record an interception. After the season, his market was again suppressed due to the injury and his limited playing time.DK Metcalf opens up about the Steelers' team bonding tripMike DeFaboWhen he agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal to re-join the Steelers, it set the stage for something of a prove-it season, during which Samuel said he’s trying to remind the NFL what he was before he got injured. Three days into camp, he’s off to a strong start. Because Joey Porter Jr. is on the physically unable to perform list, Samuel has been thrust into the starting rotation. He’s been, arguably, the standout player of camp through the first week.On Day 1, Samuel deflected a pair of passes during the two-minute drill, including one in which he ran stride-for-stride with DK Metcalf. On the second day, tight end Pat Freiermuth appeared to be running free down the sideline on a stutter-go, when Samuel came flying over to emphatically break up the pass.