What Happens with Douglas After Duck Returns

There haven’t been many bright spots for the Miami Dolphins’ defense this season. However, one of them might be the play of veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas. 

Douglas was signed in late August to help the Dolphins round out a patched-together secondary this offseason. He was coming off arguably the worst season of his career with the Buffalo Bills, but he’s been a mostly positive presence in Miami. 

He’s only allowed 62.2 percent of his targets to become completions, and that’s in a defense that is willing to give up a lot of easy access throws. His NFL passer rating allowed is 97.2 percent, and he’s allowed just one touchdown while breaking up three passes, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Douglas has also proven to be a solid run defender this season, too. He forced a fumble on a punch-out against the Chargers and made a few run stops in that game as a fill defender. 

His 12.5 missed tackle rate is actually pretty good for a cornerback. They have to tackle in space a lot and are much more prone to missing tackles. 

For a team that has struggled on defense, especially with tackling at the second and third levels of the defense, it’s hard to overstate how solid Douglas has been this season. 

That said, there’s a potential challenge to his starting spot. 

Storm Duck’s Return Complicates Matters 

The Dolphins’ original plan this season was to start 2024 UDFA signing Storm Duck at the outside cornerback spot opposite Jack Jones. 

Duck hasn’t played since Week 1 with an ankle injury, but was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver was asked Thursday whether Duck automatically would return to the starting lineup upon his return, and Weaver didn’t commit too much. 

“I think that has to be earned, right?” Weaver said. “Rasul has done an incredible job out there. I think it’s gonna be hard to supplant him by just saying, like, ‘Hey, you’re back.’ [Duck] has to go out and prove that on the practice field, but if he does that, then certainly be right back out there.” 

There shouldn’t be a doubt in anyone’s mind that Douglas is a better cornerback than Duck right now. Duck showed some promise in his rookie season, but he never looked as good as Douglas does right now. 

That said, there’s a bit more to consider than that — perhaps not for the coaching staff — but certainly for the team’s long-term health. 

The Dolphins are 1-5, and the vibes around the team could not be worse. Letting Duck play and develop this season would be a lot more beneficial long-term than letting Douglas have those reps. 

Douglas is on the wrong side of 30, and although he’s given Miami respectable play this year, it’s pretty clear that he’s a fairly limited player. 

Turning Duck into a low-end CB2 or solid CB3 is more valuable than whatever Douglas gives them this season. This team’s secondary will likely get another overhaul this offseason, so finding any long-term pieces should be considered a win. 

Obviously, as we already mentioned, the coaching staff is unlikely to think this way, and it’s hard to blame them. They’re fighting for their job, and Douglas has earned the right to continue starting. 

As Weaver said, Duck will get a chance to earn back some playing time, but we’re not confident that’ll happen with Douglas still on the roster.