Former Eagles cornerback Rasul Douglas will play for his third team in three years in 2021.
The 2017 third-round pick signed with the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday.
Douglas, 26, spent the 2020 season with the Carolina Panthers after three seasons with the Eagles, who drafted him with the 99th overall pick out of West Virginia back in 2017.
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The Eagles released Douglas and Sidney Jones — they were picked in the second and third rounds of the 2017 draft — at final cuts last year. While Jones ended up with Jacksonville, Douglas landed in Carolina, playing for Matt Rhule. The Panthers claimed Douglas off waivers.
Before the Eagles cut him, they were interested in trading Douglas but found no takers.
With the Panthers, Douglas ended up having a pretty good season, playing in 14 games and starting 11. The 6-2 corner seemed like a better fit in Carolina, away from Jim Schwartz’s man-heavy scheme.
While it was a good season for Douglas, ProFootballFocus still ranked him as the 64th-best cornerback in the NFL.
NFL
During his three years in Philadelphia, Douglas was called upon to play when the starters got injured but he was never able to win a starting gig outright. In his three years in Philly, he played in 46 games with 18 starts. Douglas had five interceptions in his first two years in the NFL but hasn’t had one in either of the last two seasons.
You could have certainly made the argument that the Eagles should have kept either Jones or Douglas last season for some depth. They didn’t and the Eagles ended up getting decimated by injuries at the position for a second straight season.
As the Eagles enter the 2021 draft, their most pressing need is at cornerback and it’s easy to see why. Had Douglas or Jones worked out from the 2017 draft, they wouldn’t be in this position.
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