A commendable player and vocal leader has now departed from Green Bay. The Green Bay Packers have traded Rasul Douglas and a 2025 fifth round pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a 2024 third round pick. Fans have begun sounding off about the decision on social media about the decision to “sell” a quality player at the trade deadline, but it was ultimately the right decision.
Was Douglas the Right Player to Trade?
Ultimately I was with the Packer fans a few days ago who were okay with trading almost any veteran except Rasul Douglas. With that being said, the fact remains that you can’t force teams to trade with you. Getting a day three pick for someone like Preston Smith might have offloaded some cap, or even helped give some experience to a younger player like Lukas Van Ness, but maybe no one offered anything worthwhile for him.
If adding a third round pick for an aging cornerback was the only plausible move yesterday, then doing it was probably still for the best.
Ultimately, there’s the argument that “Brian Gutekunst can’t hit on third round picks,” and while it’s a funny coincidence to discuss on Twitter, it’s simply just that; a coincidence. It is, in fact, a positive to have more draft picks, even if they are in the third round. Look at it this way; the Packers signed a practice squad players two years ago and ended up trading him for what will certainly be a higher pick than what Washington received for Chase Young.
If nothing more, adding third round picks is a way of having more ammunition to move up the draft board and select quality players. This is a rebuilding Packers team that clearly has hopes to be very competitive at some point in the next few years, and that starts with drafting, developing, and evaluating talented young players.
I’m in no position to say Rasul Douglas had no place to take up space on a rebuilding team, or even that he will likely regress in the next two years, but it seems to be the position of the Packers brass that paying aging veterans is not the best course of action.
What’s Next for Green Bay?
Ultimately this move was a waving of the white flag for the 2023 season. No one thought the Packers would be competitive this year after their loss to the Vikings, but this spoke volumes about the front office’s position on the matter. This team will be looking for bright spots on offense and defense going forward this year, not necessarily for wins and losses. As the Packers free up more salary cap space in future years, they will likely look to build, and pay, a competitive roster that is worthy of a championship.
The Green Bay Packers have five picks in the first three rounds of next year’s draft, and that should offer some degree of hope to even the least optimistic fans. For now however, all we can do is wait.
——————
Zack is a college student and cheesehead from California. When he’s not in class or writing, you can find him talking about the Packers on Twitter at @Zack_Upchurch.
——————
