By Dianna Russini, Matt Schneidman, Tim Graham and Joe Buscaglia
The Green Bay Packers traded cornerback Rasul Douglas and a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for a 2024 third-round pick, league sources said. Here’s what you need to know:
- Douglas has one interception and six pass breakups this season for the Packers.
- He’s been a stout piece for Green Bay the past three years with 10 interceptions (two for touchdowns) and 32 pass defenses.
- This move will help the Bills given Pro Bowl cornerback Tre’Davious White is out for the year with a torn Achilles tendon.
A win for Buffalo
Cornerback was the biggest need for Buffalo at the deadline, but also among the hardest players to pry away from other teams. Landing a veteran cornerback such as Douglas is a terrific acquisition, and the price tag reflects that. Green Bay also sent a fifth-round draft choice in exchange for a third-round pick.
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The Bills were in a bind. The loss of White has exposed the secondary. Last year’s first-round choice, Kaiir Elam, looks more like a bust every time he takes the field and was a healthy scratch Thursday night instead of off-the-street greybeard Josh Norman, who was good enough to play two whole NFL games last year.
Douglas isn’t a superstar by any stretch, but the 29-year-old defender has been a usual starter since leaving the Philadelphia Eagles four seasons ago. He has started 39 games over that span, including one season with the Carolina Panthers. He started all seven games for the Packers this year, recording an interception, six pass breakups and a fumble recovery. — Tim Graham, Buffalo senior writer
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White’s injury left Bills scrambling
Once Buffalo lost White for the season to a torn Achilles, they immediately began trying to patch things together. Second-year cornerback Christian Benford, who won the job outright to begin the year, has played well and is an ascending starter on one side. But without White, Dane Jackson became the full-time starter, and despite being a solid tackler, he was a liability in pass coverage in 2022 as teams began to target him relentlessly.
There were signs of that again over the last two games. Elam is far out of the playtime consideration, having been a healthy scratch five out of the team’s eight games this year and playing poorly when he had to start due to injury.
It reached a new low this past game when the Bills elevated Norman off the practice squad and made him active while making Elam inactive. Norman was only added to the roster a little over two weeks prior. Buffalo needed to improve both its starting unit and its depth, and it did so by acquiring Douglas. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills staff writer
How Douglas fits
As soon as he’s ready, Douglas will become the team’s starter opposite Benford as the team continues its chase for a Super Bowl in 2023. Douglas is a quintessential fit for the heavy zone coverage scheme the Bills utilize and, at 29 years old, is right in the prime of his career. Buffalo believes heavily in its pass rush being the ultimate difference maker on defense, but that pass rush was being nullified in recent games because of the opponents’ ability to get the ball out quickly against a weakened secondary.
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With Douglas being a bit more comfortable and far more impactful than what the Bills had in the lineup with Jackson, it should conceivably give their pass rush more time to create splashy plays in the backfield, potentially even helping to force turnovers. Although Buffalo could have benefitted from a run-stuffing defensive tackle, the team instead chose to attack its need in the secondary, playing in a pass-happy league and top half of the AFC. — Buscaglia
Packers uncharacteristically sellers
For the first time in his six-year tenure as Packers general manager, Brian Gutekunst was in a position to be a seller at a trade deadline. And sell is exactly what he did in dealing Douglas and a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Bills in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick. Green Bay signed Douglas off the Cardinals’ practice squad after Jaire Alexander’s shoulder injury early in the 2021 season.
He enjoyed a breakout rest of the season en route to earning Pro Bowl votes after amassing 13 passes defensed and five interceptions (two pick-sixes) in 12 games and nine starts. Douglas added another four interceptions and 13 passes defended in 2022 and had been one of the Packers’ most sound players on defense through their 2-5 start to the 2023 season.
By trading Douglas ahead of June 1, 2024, Green Bay frees up about $6.5 million in cap space for next year, according to Over The Cap. With 2021 first-round cornerback Eric Stokes on injured reserve because of a hamstring injury suffered in Week 7, this trade opens the door for rookie seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine to start opposite Alexander.
Valentine struggled against the Denver Broncos two games ago while starting in place of the injured Alexander and returned to the bench against the Vikings last Sunday. After that 24-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Douglas, one of the spokesmen for the defense in the locker room, said, “I feel like it’s on me, though. I’m not leading the right way. I’ve got to find better ways to lead. Clearly, the s–t I’m doing is not enough. How I’m leading is not good enough. I’ve got to go back to the drawing board myself and find a different way to lead.”
Now, he’ll get a chance to do just that on a contender in need of a reliable starting cornerback and the Bills get an experienced player with a knack for the ball who can tackle well. — Matt Schneidman, Packers staff writer
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Gutekunst’s track record
With the Packers adding another third-round pick to their arsenal, it’s worth looking at Gutekunst’s track record in the third round.
In 2018, he drafted inside linebacker Oren Burks, a core special teamer with Green Bay who has played 36 percent of the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive snaps this season. In 2019, he drafted tight end Jace Sternberger, who the Packers cut in 2021 and is now out of the league. In 2020, he drafted tight end Josiah Deguara, who has never played more than 35 percent of the offensive snaps in a season.
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In 2021, he drafted wide receiver Amari Rodgers, who he cut last season and is now out of the league. In 2022, he drafted offensive lineman Sean Rhyan, who has yet to play an offensive snap in his career. In 2023, he drafted tight end Tucker Kraft, who the jury is still out on. — Schneidman
Required reading
- NFL trade deadline winners and losers: Vikings get their QB; why did Bears add Montez Sweat?
- NFL trade grades: Commanders commit to rebuild, deal Chase Young, Montez Sweat for Day 2 picks
- Mueller: For Packers, Browns and 49ers, losses mean questions, albeit very different ones
- NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Eagles, Ravens at the top, plus something scary for every team
(Photo: Ian Maule / Getty Images)