Veteran Defender Is Right There If the Vikings Want Him
Surprisingly, it’ll be year three of the Brian Flores experience in the Twin Cities in 2025. He was fired in 2022 despite a somewhat solid stint with the dysfunctional Miami Dolphins. When the Vikings hired him a year later to coordinate the defense, everyone expected it to be a short-term fix, as the next head coaching opportunity would surely come around.
Well, he was completely ignored in 2024 despite reviving the defense, and he was once again disappointed in 2025 despite having three interviews for HC openings.
In the upcoming season, he hopes to improve his defensive unit further after closing in on elite status last year. One obstacle could be the cornerback room, which features Pro Bowler Byron Murphy Jr., and beyond him, just a number of question marks without significant starting experience.
Vikings Could Still Find Help in Free Agency
The good news is that there are still some free agents who have that experience. Mike Hilton and Asante Samuel Jr. have had their stints in the Vikings’ rumor mill; now it’s time for Rasul Douglas to join them.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder thinks the purple squad would be a sweet destination for the former Packer: “Staying within the NFC North, the Vikings could use some help in their secondary after deciding not to bring Stephon Gilmore back. Jeff Okudah and Isaiah Rodgers are currently expected to start on the boundary, but those two were backups with the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively, last season. Adding Douglas would upgrade the cornerback room in Minnesota.”
Indeed, we’ve no idea how well Isaiah Rodgers will perform in a full-time role, and we’ve seen Jeff Okudah struggle in the league. Mekhi Blackmon is coming off a lost season due to a torn ACL, which doesn’t help folks feel overly optimistic about him despite a decent rookie campaign in 2023.
About Douglas, Holder added, “At 6’2” with 32⅜” arms, Douglas is a long cornerback who uses his limbs well to make plays on the ball. The eight-year pro has racked up 19 interceptions and 79 pass breakups during his tenure in the NFL.”
The aging defender started his career as a third-rounder in 2017. The Eagles selected him, and he played a rotational role for three seasons, but Philadelphia waived him ahead of the 2020 campaign. Douglas spent that season with the Panthers before his strange journey started. In the 2021 offseason, he was released by the Raiders, Texans, and Cardinals before finding his new home in Green Bay.
With the Packers, Douglas was one of the better corners in football as an unusual late bloomer. Green Bay shipped him to Buffalo during the 2023 season. He was still a starter last year, although his play dropped off significantly.
Holder about Douglas’ last season: “However, he’s coming off one of the worst years of his career with no picks and just five pass breakups, which is tied for a personal low and the second-fewest of his career, respectively. The former Buffalo Bill also allowed a 123.7 passer rating when targeted and posted a 58.9 coverage grade last season, per Pro Football Focus. Combine that with his age, and it makes sense why Douglas is available. Still, plenty of teams could use some help at cornerback and would benefit from at least bringing him into training camp.”
That explains why Douglas is still available. He’ll turn 31 next month and was a below-average cornerback last year. Still, he could compete with the other candidates the Vikings’ CB room has to offer and might have more to offer than he showed in 2024.
Douglas has played in 120 career games (80 starts) for four different teams. There’s a chance the Vikings sign another defensive back at some point this summer, but they might want to get a good look at their corners in training camp.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
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