Philadelphia Eagles: How Rasul Douglas, Shareef Miller fit with the Panthers

Are Rasul Douglas and Shareef Miller better off away from the Philadelphia Eagles?

When Rasul Douglas and Shareef Miller failed to make the Philadelphia Eagles initial 53 man roster, it wasn’t all that surprising.

Sure, both were mid-round draftees, with guaranteed money still left on their deals, but in a sport with a strict roster limit, Both are viewed as expendable enough to risk being claimed off waivers in favor of a spot on the practice squad.

Well, unfortunately for the Eagles, the duo was ultimately claimed by the Carolina Panthers and ex-Temple head coach Matt Rhule, officially ending any hope that either would return once the dust settles.

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Sidebar: Theoretically I get waiving both Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas but can anyone really say the Eagles are better off with neither on the roster? Who is their primary backup on the outside now, Jalen Mills?

Okay cool. See ya later dudes, hasta la bye-bye.

The Eagles may only have four cornerbacks on the roster after waiving Cre’von LeBlanc but they have Adrian Killins’ final form, Jason Huntley, a pair of roster spots up for grabs once Will Parks and Quez Watkins hit IR, and potentially even tackle-guard hybrid Cordy Glenn. Are the Eagles built really, really strangely? No doubt, I’d even call them Sixers-esque, but hey at least they’re our Eagles, not some weird blue and black team from the Carolinas established in 2003.

But hey, aren’t you just a wee bit curious about how Douglas and Miller fit on their new team? Couldn’t hurt, right?

If no, then cool, thanks for clicking on this article, maybe check out some of our other Eagles coverage under the “More from Section 215” tab. But if you’re like me, and you got really curious about how a pair of ex-Eagles potentially fit on their new team, then read on, my friends, read on.

Alright, let’s start with Miller, shall we? A fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Miller played all of two defensive snaps for the Eagles last fall and quickly lagged behind everyone from Josh Sweat to Casey Toohill and even Joe Ostman on the Eagles’ depth chart.

Like the 2016 Eagles, the Panthers are attempting to transition from a 3-4 under 2019 Ron Rivera to a 4-3 scheme under ex-Temple defensive coordinator Phil Snow. While this transition shouldn’t be too hard to pull off, as the Panthers most recently ran the front in 2018, Rhule’s rebuilding scheme is moving rapidly looking for a new guard of front seven defenders to fill in the gaps left by departing starters like Luke Kuechly, Julius Peppers, and Thomas Davis.

With 2019 first-round pick Brian Burns locked in as one of the team’s two starting defensive ends, Miller will be competing with the likes of free agency signee Stephen Weatherly, 2018 fourth-round pick Marquis Haynes, and fellow Penn Stater Yetur Gross-Matos for exterior snaps coming off the edge. While Miller’s preexisting relationship with Gross-Matos will surely help to ease his transition to Carolina thanks to their shared Penn State terminology, it’d hard to imagine the 23-year-old power rusher making much of an impact in the first month or so of the season.

Douglas, on the other hand, has a much easier path to the field in the not too distant future.

With only Donte Jackson locked in as an unquestioned starter, and free agency addition Eli Apple questionable to go for Week 1 with a hamstring injury, the Panthers may view Douglas as a legitimate option to start on the outside over 2020 fourth-round pick Troy Pride Jr. and 2017 fifth-round pick Corn Elder. Of the trio, Douglas has the most NFL snaps, most starts, and most Super Bowl victories (duh) and is still a solid enough outside cornerback option for a team willing to give help over the top.

Alternatively, maybe the Panthers are finally going to do what the Eagles never could and give Douglas a look at safety, where he played part-time in college. With only one legitimately high upside option at the back end of the defense in 2020 second-round pick Jeremy Chinn, maybe Rhule and company view Douglas as a hybrid back a la Eric Rowe in New England who can play all over the defense as a matchup defender.

For Douglas, there isn’t a better landing spot on the waiver wire both in the short and long term, as the rebuilding Panthers give him a chance to continue to contribute on the field in 2020 while also building toward a starting role. And as for Miller? Well, at least he gets to roll with a college chum and continue to develop in a youth-focused scheme.

See, that wasn’t so bad, was it, Philadelphia Eagles fans? It was actually kind of nice.