When the Packers used a first-round pick in 2021 on Eric Stokes out of Georgia, they felt they were fixing an issue that had been exposed during the previous season’s NFC championship game, when Tom Brady laid three touchdowns on the Green Bay defense in the first 32 minutes of the game, quelling the Packers’ chance to stage a comeback and get to the Super Bowl.
With Jaire Alexander quickly rising to stardom in one cornerback slot, the feeling was that Stokes would provide a good bookend.
It’s never really worked out, though. While Alexander has struggled to stay healthy recently, Stokes has been banged up for the last three years, mostly with foot/ankle and hamstring injuries, after a very promising rookie season. Stokes played 12 games in the past two seasons, and while he has played 14 this year, it’s clear injuries have prevented him from being the guy the Packers hoped he’d be.
At Pro Football Focus, Stokes has earned a grade of 57.0, which is 85th out of 115 corners in the NFL. He has not had an interception–or even a pass defensed– since his rookie year, and Stokes has allowed a passer rating of 103.5 when quarterbacks go his way, according to Pro-Football Reference.
Packers Could Give Carrington Valentine More Snaps
All of this is bad news for the Packers and especially bad timing for Stokes. The Packers chose not to pick up the fifth-year option that teams are granted for first-round picks, which will send Stokes into free agency this offseason.
According to team insider Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, there is no chance the Packers will bring Stokes back. He was asked in a mailbag this week why the Packers don’t play Carrington Valentine more than Stokes, given that Valentine figures to be around next season.
“The keg has been tapped clean on Stokes. You’re right,” Schneidman wrote. “That being said, I don’t think Valentine is a stud just yet and you’re not going to play guys full time to prepare for the future when you’re in the thick of a playoff race. Coaches don’t see a clear superior in the battle, for whatever reason. Stokes played fine against the Seahawks, I thought. There’s no way he re-signs in free agency, but the Packers don’t have a plethora of experienced options when Alexander and Bullard are both out.”
Eric Stokes Happy for Opportunity
Stokes is only 25, and given the promise he did show before injuries took their toll, there is a good chance he will get a look elsewhere. With his departure, the Packers would certainly need to address cornerback depth either in the draft or in free agency in 2025.
But Stokes remains upbeat, and just happy to be on the field at all this season, given the way 2022 and 2023 went.
“It’s been good,” Stokes said, via SI.com. “I take the blessing with everything, just knowing that I missed basically a year-and-a-half. I missed a lot of time, so just being back out there with the guys, practicing every day, I take that tremendously because that’s the only thing that I can be blessed for. …”
“Every day that I can go out there, it’s like, ‘Yeah, OK, this is a blessing’ because I know how it feels to be on the sideline, be traveling every week, sitting on the sideline, watching everybody go out there and play. Now, it’s just put all the BS behind and I’m just out there. I never take a play for granted.”
