Packers Deal Rasul Douglas to Buffalo Bills at NFL Trade Deadline
GREEN BAY, Wis. – After Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas sat at his locker for a long, long time. A parade of players walked to his spot in the back of the locker room to talk.
In hushed tones, Douglas spoke passionately and with equal bits frustration and anger about the team’s fourth consecutive loss.
“I’m both. I’m both,” he said when he finally stood up to talk to reporters. “We’re saying sh** but until we actually do the sh**, it don’t really matter. I’m thinking about it like, bro, I’ve never been a loser in my life. These last two years have been f***ing loser. That sh** ain’t me. I don’t think that sh**’s us. We’ve got to do something, you know what I mean?”
The Packers did something at Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
Rather than add a player to help a flailing offense, general manager Brian Gutekunst traded Douglas, easily one of the team’s best players, to the Buffalo Bills.
A source confirmed the deal was Douglas and a fifth-round pick to the AFC powerhouse in exchange for a third-round pick. The source said Douglas did not request a trade but certainly welcomes the chance to join a Super Bowl contender.
The trade means the Packers have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.
- Their first-round pick, currently No. 6 overall, though, obviously, subject to change.
- Their second-round pick and the Jets’ second-rounder from the Aaron Rodgers trade.
- Their third-round pick and the Bills’ third-rounder in this trade.
Based on what would be the draft order if the season were to end today, the Packers would have five of the first 88 picks. Plus, they'll have their own pick early in the fourth round.
The Packers traded Rasul Douglas to the Bills on Tuesday.
Photo by USA Today Sports Images
From Buffalo’s perspective, Douglas will help fill the void created when stud corner Tre’Davious White suffered a torn Achilles. For Buffalo to break through the AFC and get to the Super Bowl, they’ll have to get past the likes of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs and Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
From Green Bay’s perspective, the cornerback situation has gone from strength to huge question mark over the stretch of a month.
All-Pro Jaire Alexander has missed three games with a back injury. Alexander and the Packers hope they have a handle on the issue but there’s always a touch of uncertainty with backs.
Cornerback Eric Stokes’ return from a Lisfranc foot injury that kept him out almost a full calendar year ended after four snaps on special teams. He’s on injured reserve, where he’ll miss at least the next three games.
That leaves Green Bay’s secondary for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams as Alexander (potentially) at one corner, Keisean Nixon in the slot and either seventh-round rookie Carrington Valentine or practice squad call-up Corey Ballentine as the other corner. The team added Robert Rochell off Carolina’s practice squad last week.
While Douglas had only one interception in seven games – a far cry from his nine picks in 29 games for the Packers in 2021 and 2022 – he was one of the Packers’ best players this season.
According to Pro Football Focus, 63 corners have played at least 50 percent of the snaps. Douglas was graded as the eighth-best corner in the league.
Take those grades for they’re worth – teams don’t put much stock into them – but he ranked in the top third in the league in snaps per target, snaps per reception and forced incompletion percentage. Never one to shy away from physicality, Douglas also is one of the best tacklers at the position.
Douglas is one of the league’s great stories. With Alexander sidelined with a shoulder injury, the Packers failed to land Stephon Gilmore at the 2021 NFL trade deadline but grabbed Douglas off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad.
Soon, he was in the starting lineup. He returned to Arizona and delivered a game-saving interception – one of his team-leading five interceptions in just 12 games – and tied for the NFL lead with two pick-sixes.
In 2022, he grabbed four interceptions. One was at Buffalo and two more came during the Packers’ late-season winning streak.
This season was steeped in frustration. At his locker after the Minnesota game, he openly questioned whether he was leading the team the right way.
“I might just stay here for a little while,” he said. “I’ve got to find ways. I’ll talk to my coach and just see which way I can lead better. I’m not really a talker and I don’t know if the guys want me to be that, but I’ve got to ask him and make sure he’s honest with me in ways that I can lead and get better.”
The 29-year-old didn’t ask to become a leader.
“When guys come to you, they watch you work, they watch you study, they watch how you prepare,” Douglas said. “They’re like, ‘This guy’s been doing it for a long time and he’s been doing it at a high level and he’s playing good. Watch him. See how he does it.’ So, they come to me, so I figured I wanted to take that ownership. ‘OK, let me lead.’ If you’re watching me, you’ll see how I lead, but maybe I need to step out of my shell and lead by talking and everything else.”
That was their only move by the Packers at the deadline – they didn’t add a receiver to help a young passing attack – but it was a big day, relatively speaking.
The last time they traded players came in 2018, when they dealt safety HaHa Clinton-Dix to Washington for a fourth-round pick and running back Ty Montgomery to Baltimore for a seventh-round pick. They have not acquired a player at or around the trade deadline since landing safety Anthony Smith from the Jaguars in 2010; he played in only four games.
The other NFC North teams made moves, as well.
- As part of the Washington Commanders' fire sale, they sent defensive end Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears for a second-round pick. (The Commanders dealt their other starting end, Chase Young, to the San Francisco 49ers for a third-round pick.)
- Unlike the Packers, the Detroit Lions did add a receiver with Donovan Peoples-Jones coming from the Browns for a sixth-round pick.
- With Kirk Cousins out with a torn Achilles, the Minnesota Vikings acquired Josh Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals for a late-round pick swap. Dobbs started the first eight games but had been benched. He is 25th in passer rating; Love is 28th. The Vikings sent starting guard Ezra Cleveland to Jacksonville for a mere sixth-round pick.
