Tag: eric stokes

Green Bay Packers cornerback Eric Stokes ended Tuesday’s training camp practice by undercutting Jordan Love’s pass to Christian Watson and ending the end-of-game scenario with an interception near the goal line.

The highlight plays have become commonplace for Stokes this summer. Healthy for the first time in almost two years, Stokes is once again showing why the Packers made him a first-round pick in 2021.

“Stokes has looked like the guy we thought he could be. I think he’s done an outstanding job out there,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Tuesday’s practice.

Stokes has at least four interceptions during 11-on-11 work through seven training camp practices. During a July 24 practice, he picked off both Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt. On Tuesday, he got a takeaway against Love and the No. 1 offense.

After suffering a season-ending injury in 2022 and then missing all but three games with recurring hamstring injuries in 2023, Stokes is finally injury-free. And in a contract year, he’s competing head-to-head with Carrington Valentine for a starting job opposite Jaire Alexander. To say the 2024 season is a make-or-break year would be underselling it. So far, Stokes is setting a solid foundation for what could be a resurgent season at a key position for a Super Bowl contender.

LaFleur has been equally impressed with Valentine’s start to camp.

“CV, he continues to make plays. He had another big pick last practice. I just love how he competes,” LaFleur said.

The competition at cornerback will need more than seven practices to sort out. And it likely won’t be limited to this summer — the Packers will let the competition play out all year.

“I think both of those guys have done an outstanding job,” LaFleur said, “and it will be an outstanding competition throughout the course of the preseason and as we get into games.”

Green Bay Packers corner Eric Stokes found himself back where he belonged on Wednesday for the team’s third training camp practice: on the field and making plays.

The 2021 first-round pick intercepted not one but two passes while getting his hands on another for a pass breakup.

The Packers and Stokes hope he can return to his rookie form when he made plays with some regularity. In that first season, he had one interception and led the team with 14 pass breakups over 16 games, including 14 starts.

Unfortunately, injuries have been a big reason why Stokes hasn’t been nearly as productive since. In 2022, he started the first nine games but did not log a single interception or pass breakup before suffering a season-ending leg injury. In 2023, Stokes still had not fully recovered by the start of the season. He went on to appear in just three games, making six tackles, before going on injured reserve after suffering multiple hamstring injuries.

Now, Stokes feels like his old self again. And he’s playing like it, too.

For his first interception on Wednesday, he jumped a pass intended for Dontayvion Wicks. The second came on a deep ball to Christian Watson, which Stokes played perfectly.

“I had a great little day, I’ll say that,” Stokes said.

The 25-year-old corner tried not to overhype his big day too much, but he eventually admitted how much it meant after everything he had been through.

“There were a lot of days I remember just being out there, I mean not even being out there, just being on the sideline looking at everyone else ball,” he said. “So now, it feels great for me to do a little action and have fun.”

The team did not pick up Stokes’ fifth-year option this offseason, likely due to his injury history and the emergence of Carrington Valentine last season. Stokes is expected to compete with Valentine for the starting job through camp and has made a strong case for himself so far.

However, Stokes isn’t going to put too much pressure on himself in a contract year. His main goal for the season is to be out on the field as much as possible. From there, everything else will fall into place.

“Just be out there and do not miss a game. That’s my biggest thing,” said Stokes half-jokingly. “Just be out there, stay 100 percent healthy, and just let everything else flow. I know what I can do when I’m out there, and just being out there is the most important thing for me.”

Green Bay Packers cornerback Eric Stokes said a trip to UW-Madison helped him figure out why his 2022 foot injury was to blame for the recurrent hamstring injuries that wrecked his 2023 season.

To remedy, Stokes said he’s doing strengthening exercises in his calves and hamstrings to protect his lower body from injury in 2024. The result? A fully healthy offseason, and the potential for even more speed this season.

“I feel like I’m faster than before,” Stokes said Wednesday. “I feel great. Had a great offseason…this is the best I’ve felt since coming out (of the draft).”

Stokes, a 2021 first-round pick, suffered a major foot injury in November of 2022 and missed the rest of the season. He needed surgery and was in a walking boot for months. After traveling to Madison, Stokes learned a lack of strength in the supporting areas of his leg — specifically in his calf and hamstring — contributed directly to multiple lower body injuries in 2023.

“My foot wasn’t as strong as it needed to be, so it put my pressure on my hamstring and my calf,” Stokes said. “We trained hard…we were attacking my legs. Day in and day out. Now I come back, and I feel even better.”

Stokes had multiple hamstring injuries and ended up playing in only three games in 2023. He’s now doing muscle-specific strength training to make sure the pressure is off his foot.

Healthy and growing in confidence after going through two adversity-filled seasons, Stokes is having fun and bursting with personality again.

“I haven’t had this much fun since my rookie year,” Stokes said.

Coach Matt LaFleur can see it on the field during the offseason workout program.

“I think he’s as good as I’ve ever seen him. Both mentally, and on the field,” LaFleur said. “He looks fully healthy. He’s doing a great job challenging our receivers. He’s always in phase, and I think you can see the personality coming back…he’s had a chance to really develop his body, and he looks in great shape. The play says the same.”

Here more from Stokes below:

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur believes cornerback Eric Stokes is in a great place both physically and mentally after missing most of the last two years with injuries.

LaFleur said he thinks Stokes and receiver Chrisitan Watson — who both met with hamstring specialists this offseason — “are in the best shape” he’s seen from either player.

Being healthy to start the offseason has made all the difference for Stokes, who looks fit and fast during the workout program.

“I think what this offseason has afforded him was an ability to train. It’s a lot different when you’re coming off an injury and you’re trying to rehab versus when you’re fully healthy and you can train the right way,” LaFleur said last week. “When you look at him physically, his body looks different. He’s hitting some fast speeds out there at practice. I can tell mentally he feels like he’s in a great place.”

Getting back up to full speed and regaining confidence in his body are huge steps for Stokes as he enters a big season.

Stokes, a first-round pick in 2021 who was excellent as a rookie, suffered foot and knee injuries in Week 9 in 2022 and missed the final eight games. He played in only three games while dealing with hamstring injuries last year — meaning Stokes has missed 22 of the last 34 regular season games for the Packers.

General manager Brian Gutekunst declined Stokes’ fifth-year option, so he’ll go into 2024 playing on the final year of his rookie deal.

Can Stokes hit the ground running as a potential starter opposite Jaire Alexander and re-establish himself as a long-term asset for the Packers at a premium position?

Speed is a huge part of Stokes’ game. He ran an official 4.31-second 40-yard dash at the combine before the 2021 draft, and he’s been clocked in the 4.2s.

Much has been made about Watson’s ability to overcome hamstring injuries and be a difference-maker for the Packers offense in 2024. Stokes has a similar opportunity for Jeff Hafley’s defense.

The Green Bay Packers are not picking up cornerback Eric Stokes’ fifth-year option, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The decision does not come as a surprise, as Stokes’ availability has been severely hampered by injuries the past two seasons. 

Had the Packers exercised Stokes’ fifth-year option, he would been owed a guaranteed salary of $12.472 million in 2025.

The 29th overall pick in 2021 had a promising rookie season in which he played 935 defensive snaps (92 percent) over 16 games, including 14 starts. He finished with one interception, a team-high 14 pass breakups, and 55 tackles.

However, Stokes has appeared in just 12 games since. He did not get off to a great start in 2022 before injuring both his knee and foot in a Week 9 loss to the Detroit Lions. Stokes was placed on injured reserve, effectively ending his sophomore campaign. 

In 2023, Stokes began the year on the reserve/physically unable to perform list while he still rehabbed the injury. He returned for Green Bay’s Week 7 matchup against the Denver Broncos but injured his hamstring after just four special teams snaps. Stokes played in just two games the rest of the season before re-injuring his hamstring and going back on IR.

Fortunately, according to Matt LaFleur, Stokes’ hamstring appears to have healed to start the offseason program.

“He’s been full go. He looks great,” LaFleur said following last week’s NFL Draft.

The Packers waited until the seventh round to draft a corner, taking Penn State’s Kalen King. This was a good sign for Stokes and Carrington Valentine, who are expected to battle for the starting corner job next season opposite Jaire Alexander.

Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Stokes can still earn a second contract with Green Bay, but he will have to do without the safety net of a fifth-year option.