Stokes Will Start Season on PUP List
GREEN BAY, Wis. – While Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst nuked the bottom of his cornerback depth chart on Tuesday, Eric Stokes is expected to open the regular season on the physically unable to perform list.
That means Stokes will have to sit out the first four weeks of the season before he can make his practice debut. He will not take a spot on the 53-man roster while on PUP.
Stokes suffered foot and knee injuries during the same November game at the Lions at which Rashan Gary suffered a torn ACL. For Stokes, the knee injury was rather trivial but the foot injury was significant – a Lisfranc injury that required a plate and two screws to repair and an arduous comeback in hopes of being back for training camp.
“You have your days, you have your frustrating days, but it is what it is,” Stokes said last week. “That’s what I always tell myself. It is what it is. I know the type of injury I’ve got, I knew everything that comes along with it. It’s been a roller-coaster ride, I ain’t going to lie to you. I’ve had my highs and I’ve had my lows. But I’m just taking everything with it because at the end of the day I know I’m blessed.”
Stokes had an All-Rookie-worthy season in 2021 but regressed in 2022 before the injury.
Eric Stokes (Photo by Carter Skaggs/USA Today Sports Images)
According to Pro Football Focus, of 91 corners with 50 percent playing time in 2021, Stokes finished fourth in completion percentage (51.0) and 23rd in passer rating (78.8). In 2022, he allowed 21-of-25 completions (a league-worst 84.0 percent) with a 125.8 passer rating.
Stokes went from a team-leading 14 passes defensed as a rookie to zero in 2022.
Regardless, Stokes is a highly talented cornerback who the Packers don’t want to rush back into action. With Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas, they’ve got a top-flight starting tandem. Plus, seventh-round rookie Carrington Valentine was one of the stars of training camp.
Stokes’ positive personality has helped him handle the ups and downs of a difficult comeback.
“I always try to look at the bright side,” he said. “I know things could be 10 times worse than what it is. So that’s the only thing that I keep looking forward to. If I’m not ready by the due date that I have planned in my own head, then I’m not ready. It is what it is. We all have to go through our own growing pains.”
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