Former Green Bay Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas couldn’t believe he was being traded to the Buffalo Bills and it took a call from president Mark Murphy for the reality of it all to hit.
Douglas was in the team’s facility when he got a call from general manager Brian Gutekunst on Tuesday afternoon but initially thought it was a joke.
“My initial reaction? At first, because Gutey called me, at first, I thought it was a joke. He didn’t say too much…the conversation was over and I just hung up,” Douglas said Thursday. “Then I was sitting there and Mark Murphy called me. He’s got a voice, like you know it’s him. I was like, this is no joke.”
Tuesday is an off day for players. Douglas said teammates came into the facility to say goodbye, and he had emotional moments with both running back Aaron Jones and cornerback Keisean Nixon.
The Packers sent Douglas and a fifth-round pick to the Bills for a third-round pick in the 2024 draft. Gutekunst said the Packers weren’t looking to deal Douglas prior to Tuesday’s deadline but the deal offered by Buffalo — turning a fifth-round pick into a top 100 pick — was too good to pass up.
The trade was an emotional one for Douglas, who arrived in Green Bay off the Cardinals practice squad in 2021 and immediately became a vital part of the Packers defense for three seasons.
“I miss them too. That was home for me,” Douglas said.
Douglas is going from a 2-5 Packers team to a Bills team in contention in the AFC. He said his goal in Buffalo is to help get the Bills over the hump in 2023.
