Ex-Packers CB poised for payday after being on cheap one-year deal

Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Eric Stokes. Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Ex-Packers CB poised for payday after outplaying Nate Hobbs on cheap one-year deal

Originally posted on WI Sports Heroics | By John Sbisa | Last updated Jan 14, 2026 3:01 PM ET

The Green Bay Packers let Eric Stokes walk in free agency last year and shelled out $48 million to Nate Hobbs.

Stokes proceeded to sign a one-year, $3.5 million contract with Hobbs’ Raiders. The Packers were not the team to benefit from the swap.

While Hobbs struggled to stay healthy, Stokes was sneakily stellar while playing over 1,000 snaps. Availability is the best ability, so the saying goes, and on that criterion, the latter was clearly the more valuable player. But Stokes was better, anyway, considering purely on-field performance.

For the Packers, the Hobbs-for-Stokes swap was a painful swing and miss. For Stokes, it should result in a significant pay raise this offseason.

Eric Stokes outperformed his contract while Nate Hobbs underwhelmed

Hopefully, for both the team and the player’s sake, Hobbs is healthier next year. For now, let’s call it like it is: he was a disaster in 2025. The Packers needn’t have spent their free-agency dollars on a player who, having missed 16 games in his last three seasons, missed six more as a Packer.

Largely ineffective when available, Hobbs graded out in the bottom half of his position with a PFF score of 61.7. He took the field for nearly 700 fewer plays than Stokes did for Las Vegas.

After four seasons in Green Bay, the latter ranked 18th/114 at the position (top 16 percent) with a PFF grade of 73.6. His 77.2 passer rating allowed ranked in the 81st percentile. While Hobbs posted over a 2:1 ratio of coverage to run defense snaps, Stokes rarely left the field regardless of the scenario.

For $3.5 million, the Raiders got a guy who accounted for 92 percent of defensive plays. For $48 million over four years, the Packers got a guy who played 32 percent, and less effectively.

A former 29th overall pick, Stokes played through his Packers rookie deal worth $10.2 million before taking Hobbs’ spot in Las Vegas. This free-agency cycle, he is projected to take home a more lucrative paycheck on the strength of a very solid season despite playing for the worst team in football. Per Spotrac, Stokes’ market value should fall somewhere around three years, $21.9 million. Stokes would take home more than a two-time increase in annual salary.

While playing in Las Vegas kept him under the radar, certainly, the Georgia alum has earned it. Maybe Hobbs bounces back next season. For now, the Packers will simply have to live with their mistake.

This article first appeared on WI Sports Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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