Rasul Douglas Becoming Long-Term Piece at Defensive Back

Rasul Douglas Becoming Long-Term Piece at Defensive Back

For most of the spring and summer, the cornerback situation for the Dolphins was a mess.

It only became worse in August when Kader Kohou and Artie Burns were injured, while Mike Hilton did not perform well enough to make the 53-man roster.

Those injuries and underperformance led to the signing of veteran Rasul Douglas, a week before the season started.

Even though he has been a solid performer in his NFL career, asking a 31-year-old cornerback to come in and start right away would be a tough ask for anyone.

Combine that with other question marks across the secondary, and it seemed like a recipe for disaster.

Well, after a few weeks in the regular season, it seemed like the wrong move to add Douglas.

Now, late in the season with the Dolphins on a four-game winning streak and trying to get back into the playoff mix, the signing of Douglas is one of the keys to making that happen.

For one, he has been a veteran presence on a defense that lacks a lot of experience.

Besides Minkah Fitzpatrick, Bradley Chubb, Jordyn Brooks, and Zach Sieler, Douglas is one of the only players on the defensive side of the ball with real experience.

He has used that experience and savvy to lead the Dolphins’ turnaround on that side of the football.

Through 13 games, he has 44 tackles, one sack, two interceptions, and 11 passes defensed.

Those two interceptions have come in the last two weeks, both in critical situations.

Against the Saints a week ago, Douglas intercepted a pass deep inside Miami territory late in the first half and returned it inside the Saints territory to give the Dolphins a crucial three points.

This week, Douglas picked off a pass in the Dolphins’ end zone to stop the Jets from scoring.

He has continued the theme of Miami feasting off big plays in the second half of the season.

If he continues this kind of play, there could be an argument that Douglas deserves a contract extension.

It might have been crazy to consider that earlier in the season, especially after he signed a week before the season.

However, with just four games left and the stretch run to come, it is clear that Douglas is one of the best players on the defense, and with him being a pending free agent, I would say that puts him into consideration for a new deal.