Tag: eric stokes

Eric Stokes was back on the field defensively for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, and in his first start in over 13 months, he saw his fair share of Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans.

“It was a great feeling being back out there,” said Stokes at his locker on Monday. “I hadn’t played ball in over 13 months. It was a great feeling just being back out there. Being with the guys. Very, very much emotional. But I had to challenge that all in.”

Stokes would end up playing 76 percent of the Packers defensive snaps with Corey Ballentine filling in for him when he needed a breather. When it was all said and done, Stokes allowed four receptions on four targets at 16.8 yards per catch with a touchdown.

Stokes would allow one reception to Chris Godwin for 25 yards, according to PFF, and two to Evans for 37 and the touchdown. He held Trey Palmer to five yards on his lone catch.

“It’s still hard to tell because there’s still a lot of things I’ve got to get used to,” said Stokes about where he is now compared to before the injury. “There’s a lot of little things, like you’ve got to tip your hat to the things they did.

“Of course, going against Mike Evans, in my eyes, that’s a Hall of Famer. 10 straight consecutive years of over 1,000 yards. You’ve got to give kudos to that man. So just going back against him. Going out there and being thrown into the fire. You’ve got to love it. I love everything about that.”

With Stokes having been a full participant in practice for two weeks and the deadline to add him back to the 53-man roster quickly approaching, the fact that Stokes was active against the Bucs didn’t come as a surprise. However, what we didn’t know was how much playing time he was going to see, specifically on defense.

During his previous return in Week 7 against Denver, Stokes had only seen four special teams snaps and none on defense before suffering the hamstring injury that landed him back on IR. But in Week 15, with Jaire Alexander inactive and Rasul Douglas in Buffalo, the makeup of the cornerback room for the Packers looked quite different than it did two months ago.

Stokes mentioned that he knew mid-week leading up to the Bucs’ game that he would be starting.

“I felt them coming out of the tunnel,” said Stokes about the emotion of being back on the field. “Especially after the first tackle I had, alright, I’m back. Taking a look back at it afterwards you get the true emotion. I’m actually back, back. I actually feel good. It was a great feeling.”

The Green Bay pass defense as a whole was shredded by Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers. Mayfield completed 22-of-28 passes for 381 yards with four touchdowns. The Packers utilized a heavy-dose of zone and it was like the Bucs knew exactly what was coming, able to find all the soft spots leading to a bevy of explosive plays. According to PFF, of Mayfield’s 28 passes, only two were contested.

Despite not having played for 13-plus months, there was no easing in for Stokes. He got the start, had almost a full workload, and had to defend one of the best receivers in football.

“It was a lot of little things to it,” said Stokes about the Packers issues on defense. “We can’t play the blame game. That’s just exactly what we ended the meeting on. We’ve got to find solutions. There’s no reason to play the blame game. The blame game ain’t going to get calls for nothing. We’ve got to find solutions because it’s on to Charlotte next week. So we’ve got to look in the mirror. We can do everything, but just line up and play ball.”

Ahead of their matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Green Bay Packers activated Eric Stokes from IR and added him back to the 53-man roster.

“It would be great to end on a positive note these last four games,” said Stokes on Friday. “It would be great just to build for next year. Build for everything and build for the playoffs. It’s going to be fun.”

Green Bay’s decision to add Stokes back to the active roster was an anticipated move. Stokes has been a full participant in practice the last two weeks. The team also released cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly earlier in the week, opening up a roster spot, and the deadline to activate Stokes or have him revert back to season-ending IR is this upcoming Monday.

Now the question becomes, what will Stokes’ role be?

Against Denver, he had only played four special teams snaps before suffering the hamstring injury that landed him back on IR. This time around, however, the cornerback situation is different for Green Bay. Rasul Douglas is now in Buffalo, and we don’t know what Jaire Alexander’s availability is going to be.

Given that, I do believe that against Tampa Bay there is a greater likelihood that we see Stokes on defense. However, with that said, my guess is that he doesn’t start or even play 50 percent of the snaps. Remember, the last time he was a full-go was in Week 9 of 2022. I imagine there is still going to be a ramp-up period for him, with Stokes perhaps seeing some snaps in obvious passing situations.

“We’d love to get him some snaps,” said Matt LaFleur about getting Stokes on the field defensively before the season ends. “He’s played some really good ball for us. We’re hoping that he’d be back before now and I know this has been frustrating for him. But I think hopefully we are getting close to that day.”

It was a lisfranc injury that prematurely ended Stokes’ 2022 season and started him out on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp. A different hamstring injury would then derail his initial ramp up over the summer.

Stokes potential return on defense this week could come against Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans—one of the top receivers in football. Evans has 104 targets this season and eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in Week 13. He also has 10 touchdowns. Tampa Bay also has Chris Godwin, who is listed as questionable on the injury report, and has 659 receiving yards of his own. Bucs’ quarterback Baker Mayfield ranks fourth in pass attempts of 20-plus yards this season.

“That’s what you live for,” said Stokes. About potentially facing Evans. “This is what I’ve been training for. It is what it is. No matter the circumstance, I’ve got to be ready on Sunday if I’m up. If I’m not, it is what it is.”

Darnell Savage won’t be the only member of the Green Bay Packers secondary landing on injured reserve on Wednesday. Coach Matt LaFleur said the team will also be placing Eric Stokes on injured reserve after the third-year cornerback injured his hamstring in his season debut on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

Stokes, who was activated from the PUP list on Saturday, played all of four snaps on special teams vs. the Broncos before suffering the injury.

LaFleur said the Packers believe Stokes will return and play again this season.

Like Savage, Stokes will miss at least four games. The Packers play the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers over the next four.

With Savage and Stokes headed to injured reserve, the Packers signed cornerback Robert Rochell off the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers and signed cornerback Corey Ballentine off their own practice squad.

A 2021 first-round pick, Stokes played three snaps covering punts and one snap on punt return against the Broncos. He did not play a snap on defense before the injury.

Stokes missed the final eight games last season after suffering season-ending injuries on Nov. 6 in Detroit. He dealt with a couple of hamstring tweaks during training camp, delaying his return to the field from last season’s foot and knee injuries.

The 2023 season debut for Green Bay Packers cornerback Eric Stokes lasted only a handful of plays. Stokes, who was activated from the PUP list on Saturday, injured his hamstring in the first half on Sunday against the Denver Broncos and is officially questionable to return.

Update: The Packers ruled out Stokes to start the second half.

Stokes, a 2021 first-round pick, appeared to be injured covering a punt. He grabbed the back of his leg and limped off.

Sunday was Stokes’ first appearance since injuring his foot and knee in Detroit on Nov. 6 of last year. He needed surgery on both injuries and missed the rest of the season and all of the offseason.

Stokes dealt with a couple of hamstring tweaks while attempting to return to the field in training camp.

The Packers also reported safety Darnell Savage has a calf injury — the same issue he dealt with coming out of Las Vegas — and is questionable to return. He went down on a run play in the second quarter. Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt is also questionable to return with a knee injury.

Update: Savage and Wyatt were both ruled out to start the second half.

The Green Bay Packers activated cornerback Eric Stokes off the physically unable to perform list on Saturday, making the 2021 first-round pick eligible to make his season debut against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Stokes injured his foot and knee in Detroit on Nov. 6 of last year. He required surgery on both injuries and missed the rest of the season and all of the offseason workout program and training camp leading into 2023.

After a few weeks of practice while still on the PUP list, Stokes is finally back on the 53-man roster.

The 29th overall pick in 2021 started 23 of his first 25 NFL games, including all nine games to start last year. It’s unclear what his role will be on the Packers defense at this point, although cornerback Jaire Alexander is dealing with a back injury and is questionable to play Sunday.

It’s possible Stokes could take over as the starter opposite Rasul Douglas with Keisean Nixon in the slot if Alexander can’t go against the Broncos. The bigger question will arrive when everyone is healthy, and will center around if Stokes can be a starter or if he’ll be relegated to dime package and special teams duties.

Stokes enjoyed a standout rookie season in which he broke up 14 passes and had an interception over 14 starts. He didn’t have a single pass breakup over nine starts last season. Coming off a major injury, Stokes must prove he can once again be a speedy, disruptive coverage player.

The corresponding roster move for the Packers was releasing outside linebacker Justin Hollins, who has now been released from the 53-man roster twice this month.

Sooner rather than later, Eric Stokes is going to be added back to the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster. Once Stokes is activated, how Joe Barry and his defensive coaches go about dividing up playing time amongst their deep cornerback room will be the next big question needing to be answered.

“Schematically, it’s about having the proper combination defending on what we are trying to accomplish that week,” said cornerbacks coach Greg Williams on Monday. “We will go with the matchups that are presented to us. As they come week to week and as Eric filters his way back in, then we will figure out where we want to go with it.”

Stokes is still on the PUP list but has to be activated and added to the 53-man roster within the next week. Presumably, after being listed as questionable prior to the Las Vegas game, he could be available this Sunday against Denver.

In Stokes’ absence, Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas have been the boundary cornerbacks, with Keisean Nixon in the slot when in nickel. So where does Stokes fit in?

Well, Alexander and Douglas aren’t going anywhere–they are going to remain on the field for every defensive snap. Last season, we saw Alexander and Stokes on the boundary prior to his injury, with Douglas in the slot. However, I don’t expect Green Bay to go down this path again, given how much more effective Douglas has been on the boundary.

They could try a matchup-based approach, where when the opponent’s top receiver is in the slot, Alexander lines up there. When the Packers are facing a speedy slot presence, Stokes would take those snaps. And when going up against a bigger slot pass catcher, Douglas could hop inside.

The potential issue with this is that this play style requires a lot of movement from the Green Bay cornerbacks, not to mention that simple motion by the offense could throw all of that out of whack with the Packers’ heavy use of zone coverage. This approach would also force Stokes inside, where he has very little experience, and take Nixon off the field, who has been a willing run defender, an important aspect of playing in the slot.

“Just looking at his skill,” said Williams about Nixon, “and he does, he has a special skill set, he’s a guy that can cover. He’s a guy that can be physical and tackle in the box. He’s got ball skills. He does have what you like, with his short area quickness as well. He has what you like as far as a nickel goes. As far as being versatile from a coverage standpoint, and then being in the run game, being able to tackle in run support. I think he’s done a good job.”

During a co-branded episode of the Pack-A-Day Podcast that featured myself and Packers Wire, Andy Herman suggested that Stokes remain as the fourth cornerback option. When the Packers are in their base nickel defense, we continue to see Douglas, Alexander, and Nixon. When in nickel during an obvious passing situation, Alexander would move to the slot with Douglas and Stokes on the boundary.

Lastly, in dime, Nixon and Douglas would play from the slot, which, as Herman points out, is something Douglas has done this season, with Alexander and Stokes outside.

“There’s really no substitute for playing football,” added Williams. “You can train all you want, but there really is no substitute for playing football. We just have to evaluate a it day by day with Eric and how he feels. Just building up that callous of covering every day and covering every down. It’s a good problem to have too many good corners. I think you have a lot of guys in the league that would love to have that issue. Once we get to that point, we will figure out what to do and integrate him. But for right now, I don’t mind having that problem.”

Regardless of which path the Packers go down with Stokes and the rest of the cornerback room when it comes to playing time, there is likely going to have to be some sort of ramp-up period. Stokes hasn’t played since Week 9 of last season.

Having to make this type of decision is what Barry has referred to as a “champagne problem” or a good problem, for lack of a better word, to have. Cornerback is a premier position in the NFL and the Packers have options.

“He’s fast,” said Williams. “A really good cover guy. What you like about Eric is he’s his own worst critic. He works really hard on his craft and what he’s doing. So I’m excited, and I can’t wait until he’s back fully.”