The Buffalo Bills have always been on the search for a strong cornerback duo since Sean McDermott took over in 2017. Whether it be Tre’Davious White and Levi Wallace or Dane Jackson and Kaiir Elam or most recently, Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas.
Douglas came to Buffalo midway through the 2023 season from the Green Bay Packers for a third round pick to shore up the defense for a playoff run. His arrival made a huge difference to the Bills as they went 7-3, securing another divisional title but losing in the divisional round.
He also battled injury at inopportune times when the Bills needed him at full health. This unfortunately led to losses that if he had been healthy could have been the difference between the loss and advancing the next week. However, even with Douglas present, he was not enough to get the Bills to the Super Bowl.
One of the tough decisions every year during free agency is who to bring back and who to let walk. The discussion below looks at Mack Hollins injury history and market value heading into the 2025 season.
Injury History
2017 Philadelphia Eagles
No publicly reported injury history.
2018 Eagles
Knee/ankle injury, Week 10, missed 0 games.
Douglas exited in the fourth quarter of the Week 10 matchup against the New Orleans Saints with a knee injury, appearing in 73 percent of defensive snaps. He was questionable heading into the following game against the New York Giants and played, only appearing in two defensive snaps and one special teams play. The Philadephia Eagles social media account listed him as also having an ankle injuryduring this time too. The knee/ankle injury did not appear to linger as he returned to 100 percent of snaps the following week.
Ankle injury, Divisional Round, missed 0 games.
Douglas was forced to exit the divisional round game versus the New Orleans Saints in the first half and was questionable to return. He fortunately did but his return was not enough as the Packers fell to the Saints 20-14 to end the season.
2019 Eagles
No publicly reported injuries.
2020 Carolina Panthers
COVID, Week 7-8, missed 2 games.
Douglas was placed on the COVID/Reservelist prior to Week 7 and missed two games, getting activated on November 2nd.
Ankle injury, Week 10, missed 0 games.
Douglas appeared on the injury report with an ankle injury and was questionable heading into Week 11 but played his full complement of snaps.
Illness, Week 14, missed 0 games.
He was questionable for Week 14 with an illness but played, appearing in 34 percent of defensive snaps and 10 percent of special teams.
2021 Las Vegas Raiders/Houston Texans/Arizona Cardinals/Green Bay Packers
No publicly reported injuries.
Signed off Arizona’s practice squad, and his first game was in Week 6.
2022 Packers
No publicly reported injuries.
2023 Packers/Bills
Left MCL sprain, Week 18, missed 1 game.
2024 Bills
Left MCL sprain, Week 14, missed 2 games.
Injury Concerns
Douglas didn’t have many injury concerns when he was traded from the Packers to the Bills midway through last year. While he has added in two MCL sprains to the same knee, these are unfortunately common in all positions in football and is more of a temporary issue versus a lingering injury.
Drawbacks
The only real drawback for Douglas is his age. He will be entering his age-30 season which isn’t great for his future prospects. He is still a NFL caliber player but the Bills have to determine whether he can continue to contribute at a high level and potentially as a starter.
Market Value
This one is odd because two of the leading sites for contracts have wildly different valuations. Spotrac has Douglas making $11.9 million APY while Over the Cap has him valued at $3.4 million APY. Just to put that into perspective for the first number, that’s more than what Taron Johnson is making per year.
Is Rasul Douglas still a good player? Yes. Is he better/more valuable than Taron Johnson? I’d say no.
Stay or Leave
This one will be heavily dependent on the number that Douglas is presented. I don’t think the Bills offer him the $11.9 million APY, but they could offer him more than the $3.4 million. I don’t see the Bills continuing to hold onto Kaiir Elam and if they pay Christian Benford, there may only be so much money left to go around.
Douglas would benefit in staying to help with the transition from Elam and if they draft another cornerback. Most of the cornerback talent is spoken for with the exceptions of Daequan Hardy and Te’Cory Couch which could develop into something.
I like Douglas staying but only at a low contract number if they don’t have a plan to move Hardy or Couch into a more prominent role.
Final Thoughts
Douglas is still very much a NFL caliber player, but his future will be dependent on the corresponding moves. We will see what happens in the coming weeks as free agency nears. Whatever the final decision is would not surprise me.
Top Photo Credit: Buffalo Rumblings
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