There isn’t a direct highway between Green Bay and Minneapolis. But considering the amount of former Green Bay Packers players that have crossed the border to play for the Minnesota Vikings, there should be an autobahn for convenience.
Aaron Jones and Za’Darius Smith are just two of the defectors to go from wearing green to purple in recent years and the pipeline hasn’t stopped with linebacker Eric Wilson going back to his former team this offseason.
While rosters are mostly set entering OTAs, teams are always looking for a way to address their weaknesses. It could lead to the Vikings adding a former Packers player that nobody wanted to leave and shore up an area where Minnesota may have concerns entering next season.
Vikings Could Add Former Packers CB Rasul Douglas After OTAs
The Vikings have had an active offseason even without the drama surrounding Aaron Rodgers. Minnesota bolstered the interior of their offensive line by signing center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries from the Indianapolis Colts and added a pair of Pro Bowl interior defenders in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. With running back Jordan Mason teaming with Jones in the backfield, the Vikings are doing everything they can to build around quarterback J.J. McCarthy, but there’s one area they need to address.
Cornerback is a sneaky concern for the Vikings heading into 2025 after Stephon Gillmore and Shaquil Griffin left in free agency. Minnesota alleviated some of the problem by signing Isaiah Rodgers Jr., formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles, and retaining top corner Byron Murphy Jr. But Rodgers hasn’t played more than 525 snaps in a season and fellow projected starter Mekhi Blackmon is coming off a torn ACL.
The Vikings could feel comfortable with this group heading into OTAs. But the Vikings didn’t sign Gilmore until training camp concluded last season, leaving the door open for an eleventh-hour addition. There aren’t many options the Vikings could look to for help on the outside but one of them is former Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas.
Douglas’s career took off in Green Bay, grabbing 10 interceptions in 36 games with the team. While he was an important part of the defense, general manager Brian Gutekunst shipped him to the Buffalo Bills ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, citing the 2024 third-round pick as an offer “too good to pass up.” The Packers turned out fine with the emergence of Keisean Nixon opposite Jaire Alexander, but Douglas continued his ball-hawking ways, grabbing four picks in his first nine games with the Bills.
Alas, things didn’t go well as Douglas failed to grab an interception and made five pass defenses in Buffalo last season. A current free-agent, Spotrac has Douglas’s market value projected at $11.9 million and no team has been willing to bite.
There are reasons for this. The first is that teams are still two months from training camp and the Vikings could be looking to assess their current corners before bringing someone in. The other is that teams could be waiting for another opportunity to arise, such as the potential for Alexander to be released by the Packers after June 1.
Seeing Alexander follow the footsteps of Jones is an intriguing idea, but it’s not possible as he remains on the team. It makes Douglas the most logical former Packer to end up in Minnesota for now and could become a reality if their current corners struggle during OTAs.