Rasul Douglas is latest in series of critical…

In 2010, Green Bay signed 12 players and traded for safety Anthony Smith during the season to revamp an injury-depleted roster, as 15 players landed on season-ending injured reserve.

“I think that’s the beauty in each season is it’s always different,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers, one of two remaining players from the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV team. “There’s an initial roster that gets cut down on those cut days and it always looks different Week 1 to, in this case, Week 18.

“There’s guys that obviously get injured, there’s guys that have strong performances and are ascending players. There’s guys that are plateauing or really struggling at times. There’s guys that come off the street to make an impact. It’s always interesting to see which guys those are.”

Gutekunst and his scouts have needed to remain flexible with 15 players being placed on injured reserve and 24 active players spending time on the reserve/COVID-19 list since Week 1.

While the Packers have benefitted from late-offseason acquisitions such as linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and tackle Dennis Kelly, Douglas is one of several veterans who have been added to the mix since the season began.

Both Rodgers and All-Pro receiver Davante Adams referred to Douglas as “a star” following his third game-sealing INT of the season in last Sunday’s 24-22 win over the Cleveland Browns.

From Adams’ perspective, the five-time Pro Bowler felt like the team was just “a Rasul away or a De’Vondre away from winning the Super Bowl” after the Packers advanced to back-to-back NFC title games during Matt LaFleur’s first two seasons as head coach.

Douglas, who signed with Green Bay on Oct. 6, joined an exclusive group with his 55-yard INT return for a touchdown against the Bears earlier this month, making him only the second player in team history to post an INT return for a TD in back-to-back games (CB Herb Adderley, Sept. 19-26, 1965)

“He’s contributed from just about the first snap,” said Rodgers of Douglas. “He’s been competitive and around the football a lot, and then he made splash plays and continues to do that. That’s the fun thing about this league. It just takes maybe one of those plays sometimes for a player like that to be a p-squad guy that’s been cut by a number of teams to (become) a star. That’s the beauty in confidence and the beauty in making the most of your opportunities.”

Douglas is just one example of an in-season addition who’s made an impact during Rodgers’ 14 seasons as the Packers’ starting quarterback. As the Packers ready for another playoff run,here are 10 past regular-season signings who made a difference:

Sept. 2, 2021 – P Corey Bojorquez acquired via a trade with the Los Angeles Rams