6 Packers Making Their Final Playoff Run With Green Bay

6. Eric Stokes

The Packers’ cornerback room is set for a major overhaul in 2025. With Jaire Alexander a potential salary cap casualty and Corey Ballentine heading into unrestricted free agency, Green Bay will need to reimagine its secondary.

Among the changes, Eric Stokes appears poised to be part of the exodus after the team declined his fifth-year option, making him an unrestricted free agent.

This season was supposed to be Stokes’ chance to re-establish himself. After two injury-plagued years, he entered the 2024 campaign healthy and ready to prove his worth. But health hasn’t translated into success.

With Alexander sidelined for much of the season, the Packers needed Stokes to step up as a reliable presence in the secondary. Instead, his play has been underwhelming. While he’s shown slight improvement in recent weeks, the glaring lack of playmaking ability remains. Stokes hasn’t recorded an interception since his rookie season and has managed just one pass breakup in that span.

Green Bay’s decision to stand pat at cornerback last offseason now looms large. Instead of aggressively addressing the position, they opted to rely on Alexander’s health and limited their additions to a seventh-round pick. That gamble backfired, leaving the secondary exposed and forcing players like Stokes into larger roles they couldn’t capitalize on.

With Stokes set to hit free agency, the Packers are likely to move on and focus on reshaping their cornerback room. It’s a disappointing conclusion to what once seemed like a promising partnership. Stokes flashed potential as a rookie, but injuries and inconsistent play have derailed his development.

For Green Bay, saying goodbye to Stokes is a necessary step as they look to bolster a secondary that has fallen short of expectations. For Stokes, free agency offers a chance to seek a fresh start and attempt to rediscover the form that made him a first-round pick. Either way, it’s clear that the Packers will turn their attention to greener pastures at the cornerback position heading into 2025.

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