With David Long, Packers Continue Search for Next Rasul Douglas

With the Green Bay Packers’ cornerback corps in dire straits after Jaire Alexander suffered an injured shoulder early in 2021, they grabbed former third-round pick Rasul Douglas off the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad.

At this year’s trade deadline, the Packers traded Douglas (and a fifth-round pick) to the Buffalo Bills for a third-round pick.

General manager Brian Gutekunst, who made both of those moves, knows quality cornerback play is an essential part of winning games. In that light, on the heels of adding former fourth-round pick Robert Rochell in October and former fifth-round pick Kyu Blu Kelly in November, Gutekunst acquired former third-round pick David Long off waivers from the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday.

With an empty roster spot, no corresponding transaction was made.

With 10 interceptions in 36 games in Green Bay, Douglas was one of the all-time great signings off a practice squad. Trading him was a blow to this year’s team, which is suddenly in playoff contention after winning three consecutive games. 

However, with Rochell, Kelly and Long, Gutekunst has taken three swings in hopes of finding at least one player who can contribute.

If those are all swings-and-misses, he’s armed with five picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Drafted by the Los Angeles Rams, Long spent his first four seasons in a Joe Barry-style defense; Barry was on the Rams’ staff in 2019 and 2020. He started 10 games in those four years, then one game apiece this season for the Los Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers.

For his career, he has one interception and eight passes defensed in regular-season play. According to Sports Info Solutions and its projection of coverage responsibilities, he’s allowed a catch rate of 63.6 percent for his career, including 64.3 percent but a meager 5.29 yards per target in 2023.

Unimpressed? Don’t forget Douglas was on three teams in 2021 before the Packers found him buried on the Cardinals’ practice squad.

With Green Bay streaking toward a playoff spot, Long arrives with some big-game experience. After losing his starting job, Long helped the Rams win the Super Bowl in 2021. He had a pick-six in a wild-card victory over Arizona and started against Cincinnati in the Super Bowl, when he gave up 5-of-6 passing but for just 24 yards. He had key coverage on the championship-clinching play.

“A lot of would have checked out. This isn’t fair,” he told The Detroit News. “A lot of people would have turned away. I wanted to keep improving. Development is big. You have to continue and want to develop.”

At Michigan, Long had three interceptions in three seasons and was a first-team all-Big Ten selection in 2018, when he allowed a catch rate of just 29 percent, according to Pro Football Focus.

Before the 2019 draft, he measured 5-foot-10 5/8 with a 4.45 in the 40 and a 39.5-inch vertical. His Relative Athletic Score was 9.21 on the 0-to-10 scale.

A native of Pasadena, Calif., Long was a 4.0 student in high school. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh risked life and limb to get Long to Ann Arbor.

“My mom has always been a person that helps people,” Long told the Los Angeles Sentinel in 2022. “Within our family, she is the person who makes things right. Sometimes it was at the expense of her own time and well-being, so that trickled down to me. My mom always talked to me about having a good heart. It’s not always about money moves or lucrative things for me. It’s about using your resources for the well-being of others, and my mom taught me that.”