Rasul Douglas was dealt from the Green Bay Packers to the Buffalo Bills just ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, and in his introductory Bills press conference on Thursday, the cornerback said he initially thought he was being pranked.
“My initial reaction? At first, because [Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst] called me, I thought it was like a joke. … [H]e didn’t say too much. He just was like, ‘We’re trading you.’ And then it was over, the conversation was over,” Douglas said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “I just hung up. And then like [CEO] Mark Murphy called me. And he got a voice that’s like, you know that it’s him. So I’m like, ‘Oh, now, this ain’t no joke.’”
Green Bay acquired a third-round draft pick in exchange for Douglas and also sent a fifth-rounder to Buffalo as part of the trade.
Douglas added that learning of the trade and saying goodbye to his teammates at the Packers facility was “tough.”
The 29-year-old spent the last two-and-a-half years in Green Bay. Through seven games this season, he has logged 32 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and six passes defended.
The good news for Douglas is that he is going from a Packers team that appears destined to miss the playoffs for the second straight year to a Bills squad that seems primed to make its fifth consecutive trip to the postseason.
“We were 2-5, so this definitely was a winning team, so,” Douglas said.
The Bills are 5-3 and currently sit one game behind the Miami Dolphins for first place in the AFC East.
Rasul Douglas has also spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers throughout his seven-year NFL career.
Buffalo will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
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