Samuel is being paid as if he is a strong #2 WR or borderline #1 in this league.
The truth is he is on the other side of Terry McLaurin and without that protection in the lineup is not a guy that is consistently going to help carry an offense in case #17 is out with an injury. He is a situational player who can make plays with YAC in the open field. But he is not a consistent chain-mover.
Dotson on the other hand looks to be a player whose skill set given continued development can rise to that level we need going forward as a strong #2.
When Dotson is on the field Samuel is the third option.
Under the cap it's a luxury to be paying a guy in that role given what we were already paying Wentz and Jackson III for 2022.
I always look for value, ie getting more for less relatively speaking.
If you are getting #25 ranked play at quarterback from a guy making $28M, a top 10 salary, then that's obviously an egregious imbalance in a value calculation.
Samuel is not in that category. But I look around the NFL at #3 receivers and borderline #2's and Curtis is making REALLY good coin vs. his contemporaries.
Again, if he is able to transition into being a STAPLE of the offense, a guy the team LOOKS to convert key third downs and keep drives alive, as opposed to being a change of pace and 'energy' player dependent upon the defense's attention to #17 then he may very well be worth the money.