The Miami Dolphins are left empty-handed in more ways than one after Rasul Douglas’ move to Washington
Former Miami Dolphins cornerback Rasul Douglas is off to Washington. Don’t fall into this trap regarding his departure.
Former Miami Dolphins cornerback Rasul Douglas is, officially, out in South Florida. The free agent defender certainly fit the bill of a possible signing to address needs in Miami for 2026. But as we’ve since found out today, the Dolphins made no efforts at all to retain Douglas for this upcoming season.
Miami losing Douglas, in a different iteration of the NFL multi-verse, could have actually been a win for the franchise. Free agents who leave a team have the ability to impact a franchise via the league’s compensatory pick formula. But there will be no compensatory pick for Rasul Douglas, who signed approximately two months too late to qualify.
The Miami Dolphins will get no extra aid from the Rasul Douglas departure via compensatory picks
Free agent signings must take place by the end of business hours on the Monday after the NFL Draft to qualify for the league’s compensatory formula on any given year. For this year’s event, that would have been Monday, April 27th at 4PM EST.
The terms of Douglas’ contract signing in Washington may or may not have even qualified him as a compensatory free agent lost. The language around the reporting of his deal certainly leaves to question whether his base contract would have earned enough to qualify.
But alas, don’t fall into the trap. There’s no 2027 NFL Draft pick coming for a free agent lost. Douglas’ decision took far too long for that to be the case. Miami is currently projected by OverTheCap.com to receive one compensatory selection for the 2027 NFL Draft. That’s a 7th-round draft choice for the loss of offensive lineman Larry Borom in free agency. Borom signed a one-year, $5 million deal with Detroit this offseason. Most importantly, he signed in March.
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