Rasul Douglas began his career with a three-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles that included a Super Bowl title. He also started one year for the Carolina Panthers. But 2021 was a true test for the cornerback.
He signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in April, but they released him in August. Douglas spent the last week of training camp with the Houston Texans, one of the worst rosters in the league, and didn’t make the final 53-man squad. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals, who placed him on their practice squad. Then the Green Bay Packers signed him off of it, and he experienced the biggest turnaround of his career.
Something clicked in Green Bay. Douglas transformed himself into a solid, playmaking cornerback and a phenomenal leader in the locker room.
Rasul Douglas doesn’t have impressive athletic ability. His Relative Athletic Score is 5.48 out of 10, average at best by NFL standards. So, something else has to be there to justify his growth.
His willingness to watch film and improve as a football player turned Douglas’ career around. His intelligence was such that Aaron Rodgers compared him to Hall of Fame defensive back Charles Woodson. Rodgers would bounce several schematic conversations around with Douglas throughout training camp.
“Rasul is one of the smartest guys I’ve ever played with,” said Rodgers. “He reminds me a lot, in the deepest respect, of Charles Woodson. He has incredible ball skills. [Douglas] baits you at practice. He has the competitive fire that Charles did. That may have looked like me talking to him, but it was as much him talking to me.”
Douglas led the team with five interceptions last season, and the Packers re-signed him to a three-year, $21 million contract this offseason. The new deal secures him in Green Bay and puts him in a position to be a leader. He has been in the NFL longer than any other Packers cornerback.
“He’s won a Super Bowl, and he’s been on the street,” noted special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who briefly coached Douglas in Las Vegas last offseason and training camp. “To talk to our team about those things is really big. He’s been through some adversity.”
Douglas’ mental attributes also enabled him to take on a new challenge this year. Green Bay’s top three CBs are primarily boundary corners, so Rasul is the leading choice to move to the slot.
According to defensive coordinator Joe Barry, Douglas’ capacity to foresee what happens on the field makes him a good option to move inside.
“He has such a great feel,” said Barry. “He’s such an instinctual and aware football player. I think you could put Rasul anywhere on the back end, and he’d just find a way.”
Douglas offered an excellent example of his capabilities in the joint practices with the New Orleans Saints. They have a talented trio of receivers in Michael Thomas, rookie Chris Olave, and slot receiver Jarvis Landry. Rasul was responsible for guarding Landry and did a solid job — good enough to have the confidence to remind Landry about their matchup last season. Rasul limited him to four receptions and 55 yards when he was with the Cleveland Browns.
“We say we wanna be the best,” Douglas said after the practices. “We get another team to come in here and practice with us, we gotta showcase that.”
The Packers brought Douglas in last season after Jaire Alexander injured his shoulder. Douglas went from a practice-squad player to a solid CB2 alongside rookie Eric Stokes. With Alexander back, Rasul has the challenge of moving inside. If the change is successful, the Packers might be able to put the best cornerback trio in the NFL on the field.
It will round out a defense with:
- Two efficient edge rushers in Rashan Gary and Preston Smith
- Two rangy linebackers in De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker
- Two complementary safeties in Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage
- And an interior of the defensive line built to be versatile and multiple
This year’s version of the Green Bay Packers is much different than what everyone is accustomed to. The offense should take a step back without Davante Adams, especially until David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins return from injury. Aaron Rodgers will still be a stabilizing force and make big plays, but the leading unit might be the defense, which was evident in the joint practices.
If the Packers defense wants to lead the team, performance is obviously a factor. But locker room leadership is also imperative. Therefore, having intelligent and positive leaders like Rasul Douglas may be the difference to finally establishing the unit as a dominant group.
