Eric Stokes battled injuries for much of his Packers tenure, but the veteran cornerback is a former first-round pick who has made 32 NFL starts. The Raiders will see if he can recapture the form that intrigued front offices out of the draft.
The Raiders are adding Stokes on a one-year contract, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. A day after the Packers poached Nate Hobbs on a top-market slot deal, the Raiders will bring in Stokes for $4MM.
Although injuries dogged Stokes in 2022 and ’23, he did suit up every Packers game last season. Stokes did not last the season as a starter, being removed from the lineup after five games, and he did not reenter the first-string mix when Jaire Alexander went down.
Still, Stokes brings elite speed, having run a 4.25-second 40-yard dash before the 2021 draft, and will be joining a Pete Carroll secondary. The accomplished coach coaxed many Seahawks cover men to success, with D.J. Reed, Shaquill Griffin and Riq Woolen faring well in Carroll’s system after Richard Sherman ascended to the All-Pro level.
Stokes, 26, has a ways to go before even being deemed a reliable starter, let alone a success story. But he will attempt to use the Raiders as a way to elevate his stock after a Wisconsin nosedive. A Lisfranc injury halted Stokes’ early-career progress midway through the 2022 season, and hamstring trouble ruined his 2023 slate. Stokes said last year overcompensation from the foot issue led to the hamstring trouble. Overall, Stokes has made three trips to IR since that 2022 injury.
Pro Football Focus viewed Stokes as a promising rookie, but he graded outside the top 100 among CB regulars in 2022 before the injury. Last season, PFF placed Stokes 74th during a 588-snap season. The Packers have seen Stokes bolt and are likely to cut Jaire Alexander, whom they are shopping. Hobbs will step into a key role in Green Bay. As far as Stokes’ path, he will vie for time with Jack Jones, Jakorian Bennett and Decamerion Richardson. Stokes has primarily worked as a boundary corner, which would not make him a one-for-one Hobbs replacement.