Rasul Douglas Would Be a Shrewd Free-Agent Signing

Rasul Douglas Would Be a Shrewd Free-Agent Signing

Going into the 2025 season, Miami’s cornerback room was depleted and lacking top-end talent.

Even though they drafted Chris Johnson in the first round this past April, the 2026 edition of the Dolphins’ cornerbacks does not look much better than when they ended last season.

Fortunately, with a month left to go until training camp and a little less than three months until the real season begins, there is still a player available in free agency who is familiar with Miami and who can bring some much-needed maturity and experience to the room.

That is Rasul Douglas.

Douglas, who will be 32 years old, spent last year with the Dolphins and was a huge addition when he was signed after training camp began.

Even after joining the team just before the regular season, Douglas would go on to play in 15 games with 13 starts.

He totaled 62 tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and two interceptions.

More than just his play on the field, Douglas provided the team with stability in the backend, which was something that was sorely needed as the team tried out many different options.

Sound familiar?

It should as beyond Chris Johnson, new head coach Jeff Hafley will have many different options to choose from at the cornerback position at his disposal, but none of them will be definitive.

There has been a massive shake-up in the room since 2023 when Miami had Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey patrolling on the outside.

Just three years later, the backend of the defense looks vastly different, just as it did a year ago.

Luckily, the Dolphins were able to add Douglas, and he gave the Dolphins some much-needed strong play on the outside.

Fast forward a year later with training camp approaching, and it looks like the Dolphins could use Douglas’ services again.

I understand that Miami is tight again against the cap.

But maybe there is a way that cap guru Brandon Shore and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan can work out a deal with Douglas where he gets paid a fair amount that does not affect Miami’s cap situation going forward.

In the best-case scenario, Douglas plays very well and helps the Dolphins surprise most national analysts’ predictions of them in 2026.

Or even if the team struggles, Douglas can get shipped to a contender at the trade deadline for a future draft pick.

If Douglas fails to perform at an adequate level, the team can simply part ways with him before the season begins as he would hopefully have very little in the form of guaranteed money on his contract.

Whatever the situation turns out to be, the Dolphins would be wise to look Douglas’ way and bring him to compete for a roster spot.

After all, it turned out pretty well a season ago when the team was in a similar situation.