A former third-round pick out of West Virginia by the Eagles in 2017, Rasul Douglas’ big breakout came in 2021 with the Packers. After washing out in Philadelphia and spending a year in Carolina, he was languishing on the Cardinals’ practice squad when Green Bay came calling due to injuries suffered at the cornerback position.

Given an opportunity, Douglas exploded onto the scene, making his mark in a primetime showdown with the Cardinals in which he had the game-sealing interception in the end zone. All told, Douglas had 57 tackles, five interceptions — including two pick-sixes — and a forced fumble en route to an extension in Green Bay.

Since then, Douglas has been one of the most consistent cornerbacks in the league. The Packers traded him to the Bills at the deadline in 2023 and he spent last season with the Dolphins, but through all of that he’s been a quality starting cornerback. He finished last season 24th among qualifying corners in PFF grade despite playing in the largely inept Miami secondary, and his stats haven’t dipped at all even as he’s gotten older.

Douglas will turn 31 before the season and might not be in his prime anymore, but he can still be valuable to a team that needs a starting corner. I’d expect him to sign a one-year deal somewhere in the $6 to $8 million range. That would put him in a rough contract tier with the likes of Keisean Nixon, Donte Jackson, Josh Jobe, and Greg Newsome II, which feels appropriate.

Washington Commanders

Who’s starting opposite Trey Amos? The Commanders had the worst coverage unit in the NFL last season and while they’ve added a few more options, they still don’t have many. Amos had a promising enough rookie season in 2025 to be optimistic about what he could be in year two, but aside from him there are a bunch of question marks.

Mike Sainristil is the other entrenched starter at cornerback in Washington — he’s played in the slot so far in the NFL, but he might move to the outside in 2026. That would be to pave the way for free agent signee Amik Robertson to start in the slot, who’s probably their third-best corner. The other option is to keep Sainristil in the slot and start Ahkello Witherspoon on the outside, but that doesn’t inspire much confidence.

Sainristil on the outside is a complete unknown. It makes more sense to keep him in the slot and sign Douglas to play the other outside cornerback spot opposite Amos. Douglas would’ve been the Commanders’ best cornerback last year and he’s an upgrade over both Witherspoon and Robertson anyway. Signing him would let Sainristil stay in his natural position in the slot and give the Commanders a lot more depth and optionality at cornerback.

Carolina Panthers

I’ve been pretty consistently saying the Panthers need another cornerback this whole time. Jaycee Horn is a stud and Mike Jackson is coming off a season in which he graded out as a top-three cornerback in the league, per PFF. Yes, Chau Smith-Wade leaves something to be desired in the slot, but on the outside at least, Carolina has a pair of quality starters.

It’s the depth that’s a problem, because behind Horn and Jackson, the Panthers don’t have much. Akayleb Evans and fourth-round rookie Will Lee III are the primary backups, and both could see the field in certain dime packages, let alone the players that would be called upon if injuries hit Carolina’s secondary. The Panthers simply need more depth at cornerback, if nothing else.

Douglas wouldn’t replace Jackson or Horn as starters, but he’d be an immediate upgrade over Smith-Wade in the slot if the coaching staff wants to play him there. Even if they’d rather not, he’d be the third outside corner on the team and a high-quality backup cornerback. He’d give Carolina options at the one position on defense they don’t have many.

New Orleans Saints

This is a fun, young Saints team, especially on offense. Their defense is a bit more of a question mark, however, especially at cornerback. Kool-Aid McKinstry has been a solid starter over the last two seasons and is a potential breakout candidate in New Orleans. The rest of their cornerback depth chart is much more uncertain, and bringing Douglas in would provide some stability.

The other two starting corner spots will be a training camp battle, likely between Quincy Riley, Isaac Yiadom, Jordan Howden, and Martin Emerson Jr. That’s not the most confidence-inspiring group, and the Saints really need three of them to pan out to feel good about their depth chart. Especially in this day and age, you can’t just be three deep at cornerback, and the Saints are lacking in depth and starting-caliber players.

Douglas could come in and start opposite McKinstry, significantly raising the floor of New Orleans’ secondary. With Douglas in the fold, the Saints wouldn’t need so many of their swing guys to be starting-caliber — they’d just need a nickel defender and some quality backups and rotation pieces. That feels quite doable with the crew they currently have.

Other teams to watch: Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys