Packers trade CB Rasul Douglas to the Bills at the deadline

A half-hour before the trade window for the 2023 NFL season closed, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Green Bay Packers have sent their starting cornerback Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills. Douglas took over as the team’s starting cornerback in 2021, when he was poached off of the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad. The play he will probably be most remembered for in his Packers career is from his first season with the team, when he intercepted a pass in the final seconds against his former squad — the Cardinals — to give Green Bay a Thursday Night Football victory.

Per Ari Meirov, the Packers sent a fifth-round pick along with Douglas for a Bills third-round draft choice. Douglas was in the second year of his three-year, $21 million contract, which leaves about $5 million in dead cap for the 2024 Packers to pick up. For perspective, his cap hit (the cost to retain Douglas) would have been $11.6 million for next year’s Green Bay team.

Outside cornerback Eric Stokes is currently on the injured reserve for a hamstring injury, but the assumption now is that when he returns he’ll be the starting outside cornerback opposite of Jaire Alexander. Keisean Nixon is expected to keep his job in the slot, something that was uncertain if the team had Alexander, Douglas and Stokes all healthy at the same time. Until Stokes comes off IR, the presumed injury replacement starter will be Carrington Vallentine, a seventh-round rookie.

Just last week, the Packers made two signings at the cornerback position, which now look like obvious signs that the team was going to move Douglas. Corey Ballentine was promoted off the team’s practice squad while Robert Rochell was poached off of the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad.

At the moment, Green Bay has one open roster spot on their 53-man squad. So far, no corresponding roster move has been made.