Cornerback Rasul Douglas was a revelation for the Packers in 2021. The West Virginia product was selected by the Eagles in the third round of the 2017 draft, but Philadelphia deemed him expendable at final cutdown time before the start of the 2020 season and placed him on waivers. He was claimed by the Panthers shortly thereafter and went on to start 11 games for Carolina in 2020.
However, he finished as a middle-of-the-road performer that year per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, and he signed a one-year pact with the Raiders last April, only to be cut in August. Sensing that he might have a good opportunity with the rebuilding Texans, he signed with Houston one day after being released by Las Vegas, but he was cut again less than a week into his Texans tenure. He subsequently hooked on with the Cardinals’ taxi squad and was poached by the Packers in early October.
Douglas, 27, enjoyed a career year in Green Bay. In just 12 regular season games (nine starts), he picked off five passes, returning two for touchdowns. He had always shown solid ball skills, having averaged 8.5 passes defensed per year over his first four seasons in the league, but his ability to convert those PDs into picks in 2021 was a major asset to the Packers’ defense.
It stands to reason, then, that the club would want to bring Douglas back, and for his part, Douglas is certainly amenable to a return. When asked what it would take for him to re-sign with the Packers, Douglas said all the team would need to do is ask. On a follow-up question as to how much more money Green Bay would have to pay him above the prorated $990K veteran minimum he earned from the team in 2021, he replied “probably a little more. Nothing crazy” (Twitter link via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic).
Of course, even a modest raise will be difficult for the Packers to accommodate. The club is currently projected to be more than $45MM over the cap, and that’s before a presumptive franchise tag for WR Davante Adams. Green Bay has only three CBs under contract for 2022, and while two of those players — Eric Stokes and Jaire Alexander — are high-quality starters, retaining Douglas on something of a team-friendly deal would be especially helpful to a defense that could lose some pass rushing prowess (Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith) in the front seven.
Douglas’ market will be interesting to monitor. In addition to his counting stats, he allowed just a 45.3% completion rate in 2021, and opposing passers had a meager 49.6 QB rating when throwing in his direction, the third-best mark in the league. So there is plenty of reason to believe that his breakthrough 2021 campaign is sustainable, and assuming rival clubs feel that way, Douglas could be priced out of Green Bay’s range.
Guys like Douglas often look to cash in as much as possible, and I wouldn’t blame him if he did: football players should earn as much as they can before their body tells them they can’t play anymore. But maybe Douglas finally found the right situation for his skills and/or his personality in Green Bay, and he should consider the likelihood of repeating last year’s success elsewhere against the dollar signs.
It’ll be a lot easier to give Rasul a raise after they trade Jaire… can’t extend him, might as well extract some value from the former All-Pro. It sucks but GB’s secondary did admirably without Alexander this year. Time to reset the cap.
Why can’t they extend him? He’s already (still) under contract for ’22. By extending him they can probably reduce this year’s cap hit as well.
They an extend him, but is it worth it long term? Gary, Amos, Elgton Jenkins, and others also need to get paid in the next couple years. Stokes looked good, so GB may be better off trading Jaire and rolling with Stokes and Douglas as their top corners.
I’d rather have a shutdown corner than a hot and cold safety, so if its between JA & Amos the choice is pretty easy.
And coming off a lengthy injury may help GB get a bit of a discount on Alexander..but also lesson the return they can get in trade (plus having only 1 year left).
Jenkins injury lingering into next season kinda puts an extension for him on the back burner.
And if I’m not mistaken, they don’t have to do anything with Gary until next off-season..when the cap constraints should be less restrictive.
Yes. The Packers would never give up Jaire. I really, really, really hope Rasul stays but it’s not too necessary to keep him cause they have Alexander, Stokes, Sullivan who is fine, and then Kevin King as well (who as a Packer fan I will never forgive for single-handedly losing the Buccaneers game). I do think it was always awesome to see Rasul picking off passes like that, especially against Arizona. I think only one of him and King will stay, and it’’s hopefully Douglas.
Isn’t Sullivan a FA as well though?
Oh yeah I didn’t realize that
Yes, Sullivan and King are both gone
I’d love to extend him, but being $45 million over the cap for next season (that’s WITHOUT new deals for Rodgers, Davante, and Jaire) really limits the team’s options…
It’s a 2 way street. How little money will you take?