Sasha could easily fill in for the death of the comic books’ Holly, who was Abraham’s romantic other when he was killed in the source material.
And Holly’s comic death did indeed involve Negan, so it would work out almost too well to avoid.
(Plus, it could lead to this unexpected moment.)
Sonequa Martin-Green’s work on The Walking Dead Season 7 has been limited to date, given the standalone aspect of several episodes, but all the communities are coming together eventually, so everyone will likely show up more in the back half’s installments.