Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes silenced plenty of critics last season, staying healthy enough to play and start in 16 games while also performing at a high level.
It only made sense he would want to run it back with the organization with whom he had a breakout campaign.
“I knew, regardless if everything came down to it, I wanted to come back to Vegas,” he said after an organized team activity practice Wednesday at the team facility. “Vegas was my No. 1 team, my No. 1 option, and made me feel since Day 1 since I got here, pretty much opened me with welcome arms and all this stuff, that pretty much I just wanted to come back to it. This is home now.”
Fortunately for Stokes, the team felt the same way about him. General manager John Spytek said at the combine in February that Stokes had been one of the defense’s most consistent performers last season and was a priority to retain.
Both sides made it work with a new three-year deal, announced in the opening hours of free agency, that served as security for the team to have one corner spot locked down and validation for Stokes that his best and healthiest season to date was recognized.
“Man, it was a good feeling. I am not even going to lie to you,” he said of silencing the narrative that he couldn’t stay healthy by playing in 16 games and performing at a high level. “It was a great feeling just going out there and doing everything, it’s just so much of just proving myself again to where I know I’m like that.
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Stokes not only played in 16 games after appearing in 29 total the previous three years but also was the 14th-ranked cornerback in the league according to Pro Football Focus.
The 27-year old Georgia native also brought a charisma to the organization that made him a popular figure and natural leader in the locker room.
He cited the relationships he built with everyone from the general manager to the nutritionist and training staff for fostering the kind of environment he could thrive in, which is part of why he also went to work recruiting former college teammates Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean to sign with the Raiders.
His success on the field and as a recruiter helped set the foundation for the next step in his career as Stokes hopes to expand on his leadership role.
We have re-signed Eric Stokes.
📰 https://t.co/5R6eKMiews pic.twitter.com/4obTjzFiT3
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) March 9, 2026
“I want to show everybody that I can actually lead,” he said. “I want to be able to be everything. To be there for (my teammates), and let them know pretty much on and off the field that you’ve got a brother. I don’t want you to feel like you’re alone. I want us to be connected in the DB room. One thing that Klint (Kubiak) always says is for us to be connected. That’s one thing that I’m going to drive in my (defensive back) room to where we are a brotherhood.
“We could go out; we could do everything. We’re going to celebrate together, we’re going to go to dinners together, we’re going to be pretty much like a family. This will be like college to me, all back in Athens (Georgia). I just want to get that vibe again. So, that’s me.”
It’s all part of getting a second chance to establish himself as a foundational player for his franchise.
That never came to fruition in Green Bay despite being picked in the first round of the 2022 draft.
Stokes was a starter almost immediately as a rookie and recorded 14 passes defensed in 16 games that season for the Packers. He appeared in 12 games over the next two seasons and was a part-time starter in 2024 even though he was active for all 17 games.
Stokes didn’t record a single pass defensed over his final three seasons in Green Bay. He signed with the Raiders last year after the Packers declined to pick up his fifth-year option and had his best season.
“I appreciate this a lot,” he said of his delayed success. “Just being here talking in front of all of you and everything, I don’t take any of this for granted anymore. The little things that I used to take for granted rookie year, I don’t take day-by-day, I don’t take practice, I don’t take a rep, I don’t take absolutely anything for granted because you know at the end of it, pretty much all of this can be gone.
“So, man, I’m embracing any and every new role that I can, going through the growing pains with it, and pretty much learning from it.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
