The Buffalo Bills have reportedly been evaluating the trade market in search of a cornerback in the lead-up to the NFL trade deadline and finally landed a new piece.
According to multiple reports, the Bills sent a 2024 third-round pick to the Green Bay Packers for veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas and a 2024 fifth-round pick.
In the Bills’ last game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dane Jackson and Christian Benford were Buffalo’s starters at boundary corner and 35-year-old Josh Norman was elevated off the team’s practice squad. Former first-round pick Kaiir Elam was a healthy scratch. Elam now stands to fall down the depth chart even further with the addition of Douglas as it appears the Bills didn’t move the former Flordia Gator before the deadline.
Here are five immediate thoughts and a grade on the move.
Douglas in the middle of his prime
Douglas, 28, is in his seventh NFL season and just finished the best stretch of his career in Green Bay. He had 10 interceptions in 28 starts with the Packers since he signed there in 2021. A former third-round pick in 2017 by the Philadelphia Eagles, Douglas didn’t ever catch on with his first team. He started to find his way in Carolina before signing a three-year deal with the Packers worth $21 million in 2021. I wrote during that offseason the Bills should pursue Douglas in free agency before he ultimately landed in Green Bay.
What is Douglas’s contract situation?
Douglas has two years remaining on his current deal and has a $11.6 cap hit next season. The Bills could cut him if things don’t work out and add $6.4 million in cap space before June 1 or make him a post-June 1 cut and add $9 million in cap space.
Why not Jaylon Johnson from the Bears?
Johnson informed the Bears yesterday that he wanted a trade and the team allowed him to talk to teams about a potential new home. He was the top cornerback on the trade market but ultimately a deal didn’t get done. Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reported that the Bills made an aggressive attempt to land Johnson but it appears either compensation or a new deal for Johnson ultimately held up a deal. Johnson is an emerging young cornerback but he only has a limited amount of elite production. It would be a major gamble for the Bills or any team to give him a big-money extension.
What does this mean for Tre’Davious White?
If the Bills had dealt for Johnson, the Bills might have had a hard decision on their hands with White next offseason. Douglas is a more money-friendly option that may not affect the future situation of White as he rehabs from a torn Achilles. The Bills could move on from White in the offseason, although he’s been one of the team’s leaders since it drafted him in 2017 – the same draft as Douglas.
Can Douglas play?
NFL Next Gen Stats put out a tweet after the trade showing that Douglas has only allowed 6.5 yards per target this season. That’s more than a yard fewer than any healthy cornerback currently on Buffalo’s roster. The Packers played primarily in zone coverage this season and part of the appeal to deal for Douglas is that he’s a seamless scheme fit. According to Pro Football Focus, Douglas ranks 10th among all NFL cornerbacks with at least 100 coverage snaps with a 79.6 coverage grade this season. That’s better than Jackson, Benford and Elam.
GRADE: A-
The Bills needed to add another cornerback to a depleted group that’s become reliant on unproven young players and aging veterans. Douglas is a scheme fit and he has a history of taking the ball away. Since Tre’Davious White, DaQuan Jones, and Matt Milano were injured, the Bills have struggled to pressure the quarterback and have forced just one turnover in three games. Johnson would have been the sexier acquisition but Douglas moves the needle and becomes the Bills’ top cornerback.
