HEADLINES

Rasul Douglas

Texans Cut OL Lane Taylor, Get Roster To 53

August 31st, 2021 at 7:07pm CST by Ben Levine

While much of the focus in Houston is on quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Texans still needed to reduce their roster today. They did just that, making the following transactions:

Released

Waived

Released/Failed Physical

Activated from PUP

Placed on Reserve/Suspended list

There’s a number of notable names on this list, including wideout Keke Coutee, who has started 10 of his 23 games over the past three years for the Texans. Perhaps the most important move is the activation of Cannon, who was acquired from the Patriots earlier this offseason. The 33-year-old is expected to provide the Texans offense with a veteran presence, and his return to practice may have bumped another veteran from the roster. The team released lineman Lane Taylor, who sat on PUP for all of the preseason while recovering from a torn ACL. The veteran has only appeared in two games since the 2019 season, and his return to the NFL will now have to take place elsewhere.

Texans Cut CB Rasul Douglas

August 30th, 2021 at 8:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Rasul Douglas‘ stint with the Texans lasted less than a week. Aaron Wilson reports (via Twitter) that Houston has cut the veteran cornerback.

Douglas was part of the Texans’ sudden revamping of their cornerbacks corps last week, as his addition followed the organization’s acquisition of Ka’dar Hollman from the Packers and trading of John Reid to the Seahawks. The Texans were actually Douglas’ second team in 2021, as he was signed (and subsequently cut) by the Raiders.

The 2017 third-round pick spent the first three seasons of his career with the Eagles, but he was cut by the team last preseason. The Panthers claimed him shortly after, and the former third-round pick started 11 games for the rebuilding squad. Pro Football Focus was moderately impressed with Douglas’ 2020 work, slotting him just outside its top 60 at cornerback. Douglas played a special teams role during the 2017 Eagles’ run to their Super Bowl title and started in the ’18 Eagles’ two playoff contests. Overall, the soon-to-be 27-year-old defender has started 29 career games since the Eagles selected him out of West Virginia.

Texans To Sign CB Rasul Douglas

August 24th, 2021 at 4:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Rasul Douglas did not last long in free agency. The veteran cornerback agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Texans on Tuesday, Sports Talk 790’s Aaron Wilson tweets.

The Texans worked out Douglas earlier today, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This continues a busy run for the rebuilding team at the corner spot. The Texans have made two trades involving corners in the past two days, acquiring Ka’dar Hollman from the Packers and dealing John Reid to the Seahawks.

Douglas could not stick with the Raiders, with the team releasing him in order to trim its roster down to 80 players, but has four years’ experience. He will join veterans Bradley Roby, Vernon Hargreaves, Desmond King and Terrance Mitchell in Houston, which has signed numerous midlevel veterans to short-term deals under new GM Nick Caserio.

This marked the second straight summer in which Douglas failed to make a 53-man roster, with the Eagles waiving him last year. The Panthers claimed him shortly after, and the former third-round pick started 11 games for the rebuilding squad. Douglas’ vested-veteran status allowed him to bypass waivers this time around, and he was working out barely 24 hours after being informed of his Raiders release.

Pro Football Focus was moderately impressed with Douglas’ 2020 work, slotting him just outside its top 60 at cornerback. Douglas played a special teams role during the 2017 Eagles’ run to their Super Bowl title and started in the ’18 Eagles’ two playoff contests. Overall, the soon-to-be 27-year-old defender has started 29 career games since the Eagles selected him out of West Virginia.

Raiders Meet With LB Mark Barron, Release CB Rasul Douglas

August 23rd, 2021 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ailing at linebacker, the Raiders are taking a look at a longtime starter. Mark Barron, who missed all of last season, is in Las Vegas for a workout, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

The Broncos brought Barron aboard last year, but the former first-round pick did not play. Hamstring and pectoral injuries sidelined Barron last year, and the Broncos ended up cutting ties with him in December. This marks the first Barron connection this year.

Nicholas Morrow, Nick Kwiatkoski and Darron Lee are currently down with injuries for the Raiders. While Kwiatkoski is expected back soon, Jon Gruden expressed concern about the foot injury Morrow suffered in practice last week.

Barron has made 102 career starts. Though a chunk of those have come at safety, the 31-year-old defender has been entrenched at linebacker since he joined the Rams in 2015. Barron has played with the Buccaneers, Rams and Steelers during his career.

Teams also have until 3pm CT Tuesday to trim their rosters from 85 to 80, and the Raiders made Rasul Douglas a somewhat surprising early cut, Yates adds. The team signed Douglas in April. Las Vegas rosters fellow veteran corners Casey Hayward, Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Nevin Lawson but also houses a host of recent draftees, creating a roster crunch of sorts at this position.

Douglas, 26, is a vested veteran after spending three seasons with the Eagles and one with the Panthers. The Eagles parted ways with Douglas nearly a year ago, leading to his stopover in Charlotte. His 11 starts with the Panthers marked a career-high total. The former third-round pick contributed on Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LII-winning team four years ago, but he will need to find another new home after Monday’s Raiders decision.

In addition to the Douglas release, the Raiders waived guard Parker Ehinger and punter Corliss Waitman.

Raiders Sign CB Rasul Douglas

April 19th, 2021 at 2:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former Eagles and Panthers cornerback Rasul Douglas agreed to join the Raiders on Monday. The team announced the signing.

Las Vegas will begin the season shorthanded at corner, with the recently re-signed Nevin Lawson set for another two-game suspension. Douglas will attempt to be part of the solution for a team that has struggled in pass coverage for many seasons.

A 2017 third-round Eagles pick, Douglas spent three seasons with Philadelphia. The 6-foot-2 corner did not see time on defense during the Eagles’ 2017 playoff run but started in both of Philly’s 2018 postseason tilts. He has logged 29 starts over his four-year career. The Panthers gave Douglas his biggest opportunity, claiming him off waivers last September and using him as an 11-game starter.

Douglas, who intercepted five passes between the 2017 and ’18 seasons, graded as a middle-of-the-pack cornerback last season, in the view of Pro Football Focus, which slotted him just outside the top 60 at the position in 2020. Douglas, 26, filled in for Eli Apple in Carolina. The Raiders initially agreed to terms with Apple in 2020, but the deal fell through. Injuries impeded Apple with the Panthers, who turned to Douglas for much of the season.

He represents the Raiders’ first outside investment at the position this offseason. Douglas will join former West Virginia teammate Karl Joseph in Vegas’ secondary; the Raiders brought back their 2016 first-round pick earlier this month.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/2/20

November 2nd, 2020 at 5:51pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/20

October 23rd, 2020 at 6:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Promoted: DE Henry Mondeaux

Panthers Claim CB Rasul Douglas, OT Trenton Scott, DE Shareef Miller

September 6th, 2020 at 12:42pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Panthers were busy on Sunday morning, making three waiver claims, which tied them for the most of any team. Carolina added cornerback Rasul Douglas, offensive tackle Trenton Scott, and defensive end Shareef Miller. 

Douglas and Miller came from the Eagles, while Scott had been with the Chargers. As Joe Person of The Athletic pointed out in a tweet, the new regime in Carolina has connections to all three of them, which makes a lot of sense as teams are looking for familiarity above all else right now. New Panthers player personnel director Pat Stewart was with Philly the past couple of years, while new offensive line coach Pat Meyer was with the Chargers.

Douglas was drafted by the Eagles in the third-round back in 2017, and he started at least five games in each of the past three seasons. He was a cutdown victim yesterday as Philadelphia chose to purge and start completely fresh in their secondary. He’s had at least ten passes defended in two of three seasons, and had three interceptions in 2018.

Philly drafted Miller in the fourth-round out of Penn State last year, but he was a disappointment and only appeared in one game. Now he’ll get another crack on a rebuilding defense. Scott is a 2018 UDFA from Grambling State who was suddenly thrust into a prominent role with Los Angeles last year after Russell Okung went down with blood clots.

Scott ended up starting nine games protecting Philip Rivers‘ blindside, and played 78 percent of their offensive snaps overall. Now he’ll be reuniting with Meyer as well as Okung, who was dealt to Carolina earlier this offseason. He struggled mightily at times protecting Rivers, but is still only 26 and now has some nice starting experience.

Eagles Cut CB Rasul Douglas

September 5th, 2020 at 12:52pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Eagles’ overhaul of their secondary is continuing. Just moments after it was reported they were cutting cornerback Sidney Jones, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted that they were axing fellow corner Rasul Douglas.

Like Jones, Douglas started a handful of games last year, but apparently didn’t have a role in this new-look unit that acquired guys like Darius Slay and Nickell Robey-Coleman this offseason. Douglas was a third-round pick back in 2017, and he started at least five games in all three of his seasons with the team. He won Super Bowl LII as a rookie, although he didn’t see any time at corner in that game.

The West Virginia product was always up and down, and the Eagles clearly want to start fresh in the back half of their defense. The secondary has been a consistent issue the past couple of years, although certainly Douglas can’t be blamed for all of it.

He just turned 25 last week, and with his starting experience should be signed pretty soon by a team in need of corner help. He had 10 passes defended last year, with three interceptions the year before.

Eagles Shopping CB Rasul Douglas

March 21st, 2020 at 7:19pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Eagles just traded for a cornerback in Darius Slay, and now they’re looking to ship one out. Philadelphia is shopping Rasul Douglas, sources told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

Philly drafted Douglas in the third-round back in 2017, and he’s played a pretty big role for them the past few years. He’s started at least five games in each of his three pro seasons. Last year he appeared in all 16 games with six starts, racking up 35 tackles and ten passes defended while playing about 57 percent of the defensive snaps.

He’s been one of the few guys who have managed to stay healthy in the Eagles’ secondary recently, but the acquisition of Slay made him expendable. The West Virginia product is only 25 and won’t make a huge salary in the final year of his rookie deal, but it’s unclear how much trade value he’ll have.

Douglas received poor marks from Pro Football Focus last year and was benched after Week 7, with his defensive playing time being limited after that point. Philly’s secondary has been one of the most injured units in the league in recent years, and they made upgrading it a priority this offseason. They likely won’t be able to get anything more than a late-round pick for Douglas.