The Green Bay Packers have experienced some roster turnover in the secondary thus far this offseason with potentially more to come depending on what happens with Jaire Alexander's future.
It's a tough spot to be in considering how talented so many passing attacks are in the NFC, and the Packers likely need to invest in defensive backs during the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. Among the recent decisions was to move on from 2021 first-round cornerback Eric Stokes, who has since signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Unfortunately for Stokes, he's likely to regret leaving Green Bay for that miserable franchise for years to come.
"After about 10 o'clock, there's nothing to eat in Green Bay....I'm excited to show my big back activities." 😂😂
— Logan Reever (@loganreever) March 13, 2025
-#Raiders CB Eric Stokes on coming from Packers to Vegas#Packers I #RaiderNation I @8NewsNow pic.twitter.com/27aSzhtz8N
Former Packers CB Eric Stokes Will Regret Leaving Green Bay for New Team
Stokes signed just a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Raiders and should be given every opportunity to earn a starting role. He never fell into favor in Green Bay, starting just seven of 17 games in 2024 despite his extended experience while ranking 112th out of 222 qualified cornerbacks at Pro Football Focus.
In 2023, despite playing just three games, Stokes gave up a 145.3 passer rating when targeted in coverage. His mark was 100.0 on the dot in 2024 and that's an improvement, though still far from acceptable.
Stokes needed a change of scenery, that much is true. Going to Las Vegas shouldn't inspire any confidence though. The Raiders are one of the NFL's least successful franchises and play in one of its toughest divisions, so Stokes will now have to go up against Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and the surprisingly effective Bo Nix.
That's hardly a recipe for success if you're trying to turn your career around. At the very least, Stokes no longer has any hope of actually competing for a deep playoff run as he did in Green Bay. There's hope he can regain the form he showed in college at Georgia, but early returns haven't been promising in his career.
Of all the teams he could've gone to, the Raiders aren't known for their ability to effectively develop players outside of Maxx Crosby. Perhaps he can turn things around, though that remains to be seen. Either way, he'll likely feel a great deal of regret once Las Vegas' season is seemingly over halfway through the campaign.