Opinion: Packers' addition of cornerback Rasul Douglas again pays huge dividends
GREEN BAY, Wis. — If you asked the Green Bay Packers three weeks ago who they would rather have, receiver Odell Beckham Jr. or cornerback Rasul Douglas, the answer would have been the same as it was Sunday night after they beat the Los Angeles Rams, 36-28, at Lambeau Field.
They offered Douglas a one-year, $990,000 contract to leave the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad on Oct. 6 and offered Beckham Jr., according to a source, a one-year deal worth $1.075 million to sign after the Cleveland Browns released him.
Both are minimum wage salaries.
As tantalizing as it might have seemed to some to add OBJ to an offense with Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams, it would not have meant us as much as adding Douglas based on the way things have played out for both players.
Douglas made the biggest play of the year in Week 8 when he intercepted Kyler Murray in the end zone to preserve a win over the Arizona Cardinals, who are 9-2 and must finish with a better record than the 9-3 Packers to secure homefield advantage.
He made another against the Rams that ranks in the top five when he stepped in front of a Matthew Stafford pass intended for receiver Cooper Kupp and picked the ball off, finishing the dramatic play with a 33-yard touchdown return.
The six points turned out to be the difference in the game because without it, the Rams could have won on their final drive instead of needing a score, an onsides recovery and another score to pull it out.
The guy who wasn’t good enough to play for the Cardinals and was ignored by 30 other teams, has won more games for the Packers than OBJ has won for anyone this year.
“I’m just really proud of his effort,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think our guys have really embraced him and took him in. And, you know, we're lucky to have a guy like that. And it's rare that you find a guy like that, you know, mid-season.”
It’s sort of what the Rams were hoping they would get from OBJ, who got his revenge on Douglas later with a 54-yard touchdown catch in which it looked like there should have been some safety help in the middle of the field.
But that was pretty much all he did in a game in which the Packers threw all their attention at stopping Kupp, the NFL’s leading receiver. Beckham had four other catches that totaled 27 yards and played the final quarter at less than 100% of suffering what might have been a back or hip injury.
Douglas, meanwhile, was in position for another interception that sailed through his hands, broke up a pass deep over the middle to receiver Van Jefferson midway through the fourth quarter and blanketed Jefferson on a deep ball that could have made the Rams’ final drive a lot more interesting.
He finished with four pass break-ups and five tackles while filling in for injured Kevin King, who probably doesn’t deserve his job back when he returns. The guy who went from third-round pick in 2017 to a practice squad veteran exception with the Cardinals to a depth-chart filler after Jaire Alexander got hurt, has not been intimidated by anyone.
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"Since I got here, coaches, they speak highly of everyone, you know,” Douglas said. “They make sure everyone at practice; they make sure everyone's on the same page. So, they make you feel like you're here for a reason.
“They just give me opportunities to keep making plays, keep putting me in (those) situations.”
It’s anyone’s guess how Beckham Jr. is fitting in with the Rams. He’s only been there for two games and learning coach Sean McVay’s offense is no easy chore. It’s possible he’ll become a terrific addition for the Rams but it’s also possible he won’t be the replacement the Rams need for injured Robert Woods or the spark that turns their fading hopes -- they have lost three straight -- around.
Douglas, on the other hand, has been just what a defense with a lot of first-round picks and high-priced free agents needs. He’s the guy who comes to practice every day trying to prove himself, setting the bar high for what it means to really want it.
“Man, he’s just a guy that I love the way he prepares, how he goes about his business, each and every day,” nose tackle Kenny Clark said. “You can tell he's always locked in. You just love where he's at mentally, and what he brings to our team.
“And I don't know, he’s just a baller. He's a baller, man, that's, that's all I can say. Since day one he's been hungry, and excited about being on this team. Him playing with us and everything has just been paying off.”
A team as talented as the Packers needs a player or two like Douglas to remind them that the game doesn’t come easy. It might seem that way at times, but for someone who crashed to earth after four seasons of playing regularly for the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers, this is precious playing time.
His combination of height and size (6-2, 209 pounds) makes him a physical presence on a defense that is trying to set a different tone than what recent defenses have offered around here. He hasn’t backed down to anybody, not A.J. Green on the crucial play in Arizona or Kupp in the third quarter Sunday.
“It’s just next man up,” Douglas said. “Everybody is getting coached the same, everybody is doing the same thing, everybody is attacking the day the same way. Everyone's a starter till you're not.
“So, everyone knows the defense, knows what's expected of them when their number's called.”
Not only is Douglas’ number being called, he's making the kind of contribution that you hope a big-name player with a big salary might make.