Rasul Douglas Hung Up On Brian Gutekunst While Being Told He Was Getting Traded To The Bills Because He Thought He Was Joking - Turns Out The Packers GM Is Just An Asshole

Ian Maule. Getty Images.

Both the Packers front office and coaching staff are filled with tons of brainless idiots who think they know what they are doing —none worse than GM Brian Gutekunst. 

To drive home that point let's quickly rehash how poorly Gute handled the Aaron Rodgers saga. This is the guy who traded UP in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft to draft Aaron Rodgers' successor, rather than add an offensive weapon to a contending, win-now roster. He eventually backpedaled on that plan by giving Rodgers a brand new monster contract following back to back MVP campaigns. Just one season later he reversed course once more and shipped his future HOF QB to the Jets so that he could hand the keys to the young man he changed the course of the franchise for. And how did he set up his beloved Jordan Love in the young QB's first full season? By surrounding him with the youngest offensive weapons in the game. Gutekunst is a disaster of a GM with really no direction or working brain cells whatsoever. 

His latest misstep? The trading of veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas earlier in the week. 

Now like every professional sport, the NFL is of course a business. It's a front office's job to take emotion out of decisions if it's for the greater good of the organization. Sometimes when the season isn't going the way you want, you need to abandon ship, sell off some assets, and better prepare for the future rather than the present. It's a shitty situation to get yourself in, but it happens. 

The Packers traded veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas and a 5th round pick to the Bills for a 3rd rounder. You can pick apart that trade all you want, but the way Gutekunst went about telling Douglas is the worst part of this. 

When calling Douglas to inform him of the trade, the Packers GM came off vague and unserious to the point Rasul was confused and didn't believe him. Good way to treat someone who the whole calls the heart and soul of the locker room. 

Unfortunately the mishandling and miscommunication with vets like this is just par for the course with this clown running the show. This was the kinda shit Rodgers HATED about Gutekunst. It's what started his giant rift with the team and nearly led to him leaving the franchise earlier than he did. 

Why is it so hard for Gutekunst to be a man and talk to his players like normal human beings? You can trade guys and make moves, even if they're the wrong ones, but when it comes down to this part of the gig just treat people the right way. Fail to do that and it can have ripple effects that lead to zero free agents ever wanting to sign with you.  

Rasul has been in the league since 2017, but felt like the Packers' fans and players were the first to really accept him. He loved being a Packer and his teammates looked up to him as a leader. Gute said the hell with that and traded his ass like it was nothing. 

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If you were interested in hearing what kind of guy Rasul is, listen no further than to Aaron Jones' words. Buffalo, you're getting an awesome piece to your defense, on and off the field. 

Keisean Nixon had this to say

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And Jaire

Listen, I get making a trade like that on the surface. The Packers are 2-5 and going nowhere but to the bottom real fast. Flipping some vets for picks isn't the worst idea as 2024 grows closer and closer. But why just trade Rasul? Why not tear it down further? The ONE GUY you deal happens to be the heart and soul of the team? Feels unbelievably short-sighted and unnecessary. That's not even taking into account he's a very good 29 year old cornerback. All to move up from the 5th round to late in the 3rd. Awesome stuff Gute. I'm sure everyone in that locker room is jumping for joy.  It's like Gute is trying to become more hated than he already was. Hard to do, but I think he accomplished his mission. 

The Packers go nowhere with Gutekunst and LaFleur at the top. Love has regressed every week since the jump, but he's not exactly in a great situation to succeed in. Not sure how many young QBs step into that mess and do much better. Don't get me wrong, he hasn't been good, but he's almost set-up to fail here. That falls on the head coach designing game plans and the GM who assembled the roster. If it continues this way then heads need to roll. 

P.S. This whole situation made me think of the Phillies' prank on Kyle Kendrick, making him think he was headed to Japan. All-time.