Jakorian Bennett had about 5 hours to hastily pack two suitcases, grab his cleats and fly across the country to start his new life in Philadelphia.
“Man, probably the most craziest time that I’ve been around,” Bennett said on Saturday afternoon. “But everything just kind of happened fast.”
Really fast.
Bennett, 24, was in Las Vegas on Monday when he got word from the Raiders at around 5:30-6 p.m. that he was getting traded to the Eagles. After packing, he boarded an 11:30 p.m. red-eye flight that landed in Philadelphia at 7 a.m.
By the time practice started at 10 on Tuesday, Bennett was already on the practice field as a spectator before the deal even became official.
“It happened so fast so there really weren’t any thoughts,” Bennett said.
In the days that followed, Bennett has been able to catch up on sleep and has been diving deeper into the Eagles’ playbook, while learning more about how Vic Fangio’s defense operates. He has been learning from defensive backs coach Christian Parker, whom Bennett said is already one of the smartest people he has been around.
It’s a bit of a crash course for the former fourth-round pick, but he’s not making it bigger than it needs to be.
“Just getting the basics,” Bennett said. “And then conceptually, football doesn’t really change that much. You have different terminology and stuff like that but if you know the game and you know conceptually … because Cover 4 is Cover 4, Cover 3 is Cover 3.”
The Eagles this summer have had a competition for the starting cornerback job opposite Quinyon Mitchell and it’s probably fair to assume that the trade for Bennett is an indication that neither Kelee Ringo nor Adoree’ Jackson has taken ownership of that role. Defensive tackle Thomas Booker played some solid snaps for the Eagles last year but they were willing to trade him to bring Bennett into the fold.
While Bennett didn’t play in the preseason opener on Thursday night, he practiced for the first time with the Eagles on Saturday morning. He rotated in with the second-team defense at the right corner position and got some extra reps in the developmental period late in practice.
Will Bennett eventually compete for that starting job?
“Possibly,” Fangio said on Saturday morning. “I mean everybody's got the right to compete out here. I think we need to get his feet under him and get our eyes on him and see what happens over the next few weeks.”
The Raiders selected Bennett out of Maryland with the No. 104 pick — one spot ahead of where the Eagles drafted Ringo — in the 2023 draft. Bennett on Saturday said his meeting with the Eagles in the pre-draft process that year was one of his best.
In his two seasons with the Raiders, Bennett played in 24 games with 11 starts. Last year, he started seven games for the Raiders and played pretty well before his season ended with a shoulder injury that needed surgery. (Bennett on Saturday said his shoulder now feels better than ever.)
Even though Bennett played well in 2024, Raiders new head coach Pete Carroll has traditionally favored bigger cornerbacks and Bennett is under 6 feet. Based on his reps in training camp in Vegas, Bennett didn’t seem shocked about the trade.
When asked what he knows about Bennett, Fangio said, “We're going to find out here soon. Just throw him into the action and see what he's got.”
Does Bennett expect to compete for a starting job?
“I’m just trying to go out here and be the best version of JB,” Bennett said. “I know the player I am, I know the player I can be. Whatever that is, man. And that’s football. You always want to compete. I just want to be the best version of myself.”
The Eagles this offseason cut ties with Darius Slay and let Isaiah Rodgers walk in free agency. The hope was that Ringo or Jackson would win that job but it has been a back-and-forth battle without a real leader. It’s very possible that even as a late arrival, Bennett can make up enough ground to see the field as a starter on Sept. 4 in the season opener.
Until then, he’s going to need to study and work to catch up to guys who have been in this defense much longer than him.
And he’s probably going to have to live out of his suitcase for a while too.
“Man, my whole house is there, car, everything,” Bennett said. “I’m gonna figure that out.”
