Rasul Douglas Getting Comfortable After Day One with Commanders

Day one of training camp is officially in the books after wide receivers like Antonio Williams and Treylon Burks flashed on offense, while $100 million edge rusher Odafe Oweh was hard to miss as he looks to become the impact piece the Washington Commanders hoped he would be out of free agency.

Yet Wednesday also marked the first day with the organization for Rasul Douglas, the 30 year old, 6-foot-2 cornerback who signed with the organization at the start of the month and was made official this week. His arrival loomed even larger given second year cornerback Trey Amos was one of three players to open training camp on the physically unable to perform list, though head coach Dan Quinn expressed optimism regarding an unspecified timeline to return.

For Douglas, he arrives in Washington in new territory, but there are familiar faces on the defense given he has previously trained with both cornerback Antonio Hamilton and safety Nick Cross, while he also overlapped with cornerback Amik Robertson for a season together with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.

But Douglas admitted that despite Washington becoming his sixth NFL team, he's still learning how to adjust to the culture and chemistry given Wednesday marked his first day. While he adjusts, he also looks to elevate the talent in the room.

Douglas posted a pair of interceptions while allowing a 54.5% completion percentage in his lone season with the Miami Dolphins in 2025, while he also notched double digit pass deflections for the first time since the 2023 season when he combined for 14 with both the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills.

General manager Adam Peters pointed to Douglas' starting experience when asked about the signing before noting he's "big and he's played a lot of good ball" as he now looks to elevate the rotation. The path to a starting role remains a possibility with Amos sidelined, adding quality insurance at a position that was also viewed to be a question mark at points in the offseason.

In Washington, Douglas could step into an ideal fit given the Commanders are expected to implement more zone coverage under first year defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, an area that the veteran cornerback has proven he can thrive in through his NFL career.

"If you're going to tell me where you're throwing the ball, I'm going to look at you," Douglas said. "If you're going to help me out and tell me what you want to do -- somebody gave you the answer to the test, would you not put the answer in?"

The veteran will get a chance to test the fit in a Commanders uniform against his former team when Washington hosts the Miami Dolphins for a joint practice on Aug. 12 ahead of the first preseason game set two days later.