This is at least the 2nd time I have seen you post this thought.
My hypothesis: You sir have gotten silly. too many trips to the dentist or something.
there is no value added in keeping a deal a secret. If they are going to draft a cb; whether or not they have a deal in place with Samuel will not change that decision.
There is value in getting deal done; i.e. right now he is not coming into training camps or practices or workouts.
The deal is not announced because the deal is not done.
Hypothetical Scenario:
Let’s assume the Pats sign Samuel long term and announce it prior to the draft.
Team A is drafting with the 27th pick of the first round. The Patriots have the 24th pick. Team A knows the Patriots want to draft a mlb or cb, but with Samuel signed, it would now definitely be a mlb. Pick 23 arrives and there are two blue chip prospects on the board - a MLB and a CB. The team picking at 23 needs a WR and there are several good ones left on the board. Since the Patriots are picking next Team A knows that it must move up to 23 to grab the MLB, which it does. The Patriots lose out on the MLB because other teams know they won’t draft the CB.
In order to prevent this type of scenario, they withhold announcing the Samuel deal until after the draft. It’s certainly plausible.
DISCLAIMER 1: I’m not saying Samuel is or isn’t signed, only that keeping the signing secret until after the draft could be beneficial.
DISCLAIMER 2: I know this scenario is fairly simplistic and things aren’t usually this black and white; i.e., teams won’t know exactly who the Patriots have targeted. However, it is certainly not out of the question that the Patriots can imagine a scenario where keeping the signing secret would help them.