Dolphins made smart call by passing on Rasul Douglas

The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson reported that Douglas never received an offer from the Dolphins. That isn't a big surprise considering this regime is different from the one he played for last season.

Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan are the Dolphins' new head coach and general manager. Douglas does have some familiarity with both. He played in seven games for the Green Bay Packers in 2023, when Hafley was the team's defensive coordinator, before being traded to the Bills.

Miami has conducted a complete roster reset under Hafley and Sullivan. They have moved on from high-priced veterans in favor of a youth movement, hoping to develop the next core of star players. The Dolphins made a league-high 13 picks in April's draft, headlined by first-rounders Kadyn Proctor and Chris Johnson.

Instead of retaining Douglas, the Dolphins signed former Titans cornerback Darrell Baker Jr., who will compete with Johnson, JuJu Brents, and Ethan Bonner for the starting cornerback jobs. During his four NFL seasons, Baker has appeared in 51 games with 25 starts, recording 123 tackles and 19 passes defended.

Miami already has a veteran cornerback in Baker, so it didn't make much sense to sign Douglas as well. The team wants to see what it has in Johnson, as well as players such as Storm Duck, A.J. Green, Marco Wilson, and Alex Austin. Baker, 28, is also two years younger than Douglas and signed a less expensive one-year deal worth $1.26 million.

The Dolphins' secondary likely would have been better had they re-signed Douglas. But they're in the middle of a rebuild, and evaluating their younger players is a priority as they try to establish a foundation for the future.