Douglas Goes from Cornerback Consolation Prize to Hero
Rasul Douglas spent training camp with the Las Vegas Raiders. He was released late in training camp.
He latched on with the Houston Texans for the preseason finale. He was released again.
The Arizona Cardinals signed him to their practice squad. That’s where the Green Bay Packers, desperate for a veteran cornerback after Jaire Alexander suffered a serious shoulder injury a few days earlier, found him on Oct. 6.
The fourth time might be the charm. A third-round pick in 2017 who’s already on his sixth team, Douglas made the play not only of the game but the Packers’ season on Thursday night. With Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray about to put the finishing touches on a game-winning, 99-yard touchdown drive, Douglas intercepted his former teammate to preserve Green Bay’s 24-21 victory.
“What a great story,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “How special is this game? Guy’s on the street, comes in, starts for us, finishes the game out for us. Amazing.”
Douglas’ career sounds a bit like a Johnny Cash song. He’s been everywhere, man.
“Blessed. Blessed. Blessed, man,” Douglas said. “You’re in a crazy mental state being in the league five years, never been on a practice squad before. And then one day, you’re just on a practice squad, you feel like you’re working for nothing, and then you get a call and you’re somewhere else, and you’re playing. So, I’m just thankful.”
Being thankful is a two-way street.
Alexander missed his fourth consecutive game. Fellow cornerback Kevin King was out for the fifth time in six weeks. With two starting cornerbacks out of action, Douglas has been an unlikely savior the past three weeks for a team that’s won seven in a row after a Week 1 loss.
“He’s a great player,” receiver Randall Cobb said. “He made a big-time play tonight. To step up in the moment that that was and for it to not be too big for him, that’s a testament to his character and his confidence. He made a lot of big plays throughout the night. He was huge for our defense. He put us in a position to stop them and give our offense the ball back. You’re talking about a guy that was on the street a couple weeks ago. For him to be here and to make a play at a critical moment like he made, that goes back to the depth of this team and our belief in each other.”
Not bad for the consolation prize. Douglas, his signing not yet announced by the team, was already in Green Bay getting ready for his first practice when the big cornerback news of the day broke. Former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore, who reportedly wanted to join the Packers, was instead traded by New England to Carolina.
At the time, nobody could have guessed that Douglas would return to Arizona to beat his own team. At the time, Douglas didn’t even know this game was on the docket.
“I never checked the schedule,” he said.
With 15 seconds remaining, the Cardinals faced a second-and-goal from the 5. A touchdown seemed practically inevitable. Murray is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and the Cardinals have one of the best offenses in the NFL. The clock appeared ready to strike midnight for Green Bay’s undermanned defense.
Murray threw to veteran A.J. Green in the end zone. One problem: Green was blocking. Douglas disengaged long enough to deflect the ball to himself for the interception.
“We’re in an all-out blitz,” Douglas explained. “It’s me and A.J. Green. I see Kyler Murray just looking at A.J. Green. There was about 15 seconds left or something like that, I know they’re well in field goal range, so now it’s like let’s see if we can get seven and end it, so I’ve got to make a play. He threw it to my guy. Just made a play.”
It was his first interception since the 2018 finale – a span of 1,033 days and five teams ago.
“That was probably the first time I’ve won a game like that,” Douglas said. “So, it was a shocking feeling, like, ‘Oh, snap, we just won off that play.’ I was kind of surprised. I just saw Stokes running down, like ‘You just said you were going to get a pick.’ And I was like, ‘Well, it just came to life.”
