3 reasons why Rasul Douglas improves the Dolphins’ playoff chances

Cornerback Rasul Douglas is set to play the coming 2025 season with the Miami Dolphins after news surfaced that the two sides agreed to a one-year deal on Tuesday. The Dolphins acquired one of the more proven cornerbacks who was left on the open market and also bolstered a position of need.

Dolphins fans are hoping that the acquisition of Douglas will keep the team’s secondary competent after that unit went through an overhaul this offseason. The team’s entire starting secondary from a season ago is gone, and Miami’s most notable loss in the secondary is cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s break down a trio of reasons as to why the addition of Douglas improves the Dolphins’ playoff chances in the 2025 campaign with their Week 1 bout against the Indianapolis Colts less than two weeks away.

1. Veteran presence in overhauled secondary

Douglas will bring a calming presence to a secondary that’s undergone plenty of changes over the last several months. He’s far from the most experienced player in the NFL at just 29 years old, but he does have eight seasons under his belt.

With Ramsey gone and now a member of the Steelers and cornerback Kader Kohou set to miss the entire 2025 season with a knee injury, the Dolphins needed another proven secondary piece, and they got one in Douglas.

There’s a real possibility that Douglas’ presence in the locker room has a positive impact on secondary players who are trying to prove that they can be starting-caliber players at the highest level. He might just show the likes of Storm Duck, Jason Marshall Jr. and Cam Smith what it takes to be a successful starting cornerback.

All in all, Douglas’ veteran presence projects to come in handy in ways both on and off the field.

2. Playoff experience with Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles

The cornerback joins the Dolphins with a wealth of playoff experience across stints with the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles. That experience may prove to be invaluable to the Dolphins’ pursuit of another playoff berth after the team missed the playoffs a season ago.

Most notably, Douglas has won a Super Bowl at the highest level. He won one while playing for the Eagles back when he was a rookie in the 2017 campaign, and he played a surprisingly large role for Philadelphia as a first-year player. He logged 14 games and five starts in the regular season before he suited up in every one of the Eagles’ three playoff games.

Much more recently, he served as a starting cornerback for the Bills when the team made a run to the AFC Championship Game in the 2024 season.

A player with Douglas’ playoff pedigree might be exactly what the doctor ordered for the Dolphins to get back in the playoffs. Miami will play some games that could have playoff ramifications in the 2025 campaign, and the team will be thankful to have someone with the level of Douglas’ experience in those contests.

Here’s to hoping that Douglas’ playoff experience helps the Dolphins win their first playoff game since the year 2000 in the coming season.

3. Has a knack for forcing turnovers

The Dolphins didn’t do that great a job coming up with interceptions last season. Miami came up with just 10 interceptions during the entire campaign, and 21 teams across the league ended up with more interceptions.

Douglas might just be the remedy to the Dolphins’ interception problem. Over the course of his pro career, Douglas has totaled 19 interceptions, and he finished with three-plus interceptions in four NFL seasons. From the 2021 season through the 2023 season, Douglas picked off 14 passes in 45 games.

The Dolphins’ defense might have no choice but to force more turnovers than it did last season if it wants to be even somewhat effective in light of all the players it lost this offseason. But with Douglas now in the fold, fans should be confident that the team will accumulate more interceptions in the 2025 season compared to a season ago.

Douglas’ penchant for racking up interceptions may go on to win the Dolphins a game in the coming campaign as well, like how youngster Ethan Robinson came up with a game-winning interception against the Detroit Lions in a recent preseason bout.