Green Bay Packers Add to CB Depth by Signing Rasul Douglas
By Paul Bretl
Well, sorry everyone, it’s not Stephon Gilmore. But the Green Bay Packers did need to bolster their cornerback depth with Kevin King having missed the last two games and Jaire Alexander’s status unknown at this time.
So to do that, the Green Bay Packers are signing Rasul Douglas off the Arizona Cardinals practice squad and on to the 53-man roster.
Douglas was a third-round pick in 2017 out of West Virginia. He spent his first three seasons with Philadelphia and 2020 with Carolina.
He’s an experienced player, with nearly 2,500 career snaps and posted a 4.59 second 40-yard dash coming out of college.
Douglas has been targeted 274 times over that span, allowing a completion rate of 61.3 percent and 13.1 yards per catch, according to PFF ($$). He also has five career interceptions, 25 pass breakups, and has been called for 21 penalties. His career passer rating when targeted is 96.2.
More recently in 2020, Douglas saw ample playing time with Carolina, allowing 50 completions on 77 targets at 12.1 yards per catch with four touchdowns given up, no interceptions, and eight pass breakups. It’s also worth noting that Douglas also has 574 career special teams snaps.
As I wrote recently, the Green Bay Packers’ cornerback depth is a major concern. Prior to this signing, they only had four healthy cornerbacks on the active roster—Chandon Sullivan, Shemar Jean-Charles, Eric Stokes, and Isaac Yiadom.
It looks like the Packers found their CB2 of the future in Stokes, but Yiadom and Sullivan have taken their lumps in coverage over their respective careers, while Jean-Charles is inexperienced, and we don’t yet know when King or Alexander will be back in action.
Douglas is far from a game-changer, but he does at least provide experience and stability on the boundary.
This also begs the question, does this signing mean that the Green Bay Packers will be without Alexander, who suffered a shoulder injury against Pittsburgh? We will find out later today.