The Green Bay Packers secondary has the potential to be one of the most dominant in the league. Last year, inconsistency and poor play saw the unit underperform but there were still bright spots. Jaire Alexander is always a joy to watch on the field and the Packers may have found some diamonds in the rough late in the season. At a press conference today, Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry gave an indication on the starting Green Bay Packers secondary and one notable name was missing.
"It's May," Barry notes, but, as expected, it will be Alexander and Douglas at corner and Nixon in the slot when OTAs start next week.
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) May 16, 2023
Green Bay Packers Secondary According To Joe Barry
Barry did put a caveat on his statement. “It’s May,” he said before talking about who will start where when OTAs begin next week. Alexander and Rasul Douglas will be at corner with Nixon in the slot. There’s one name missing in that group. Third-year corner Eric Stokes was not mentioned. After his rookie season, it looked like Stokes was on the fast track to becoming a great corner opposite Alexander. After being injured for most of his sophomore season, questions are now being raised about when he will see the field.
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What’s Going To Happen To Stokes?
It seems the injury recovery might not be going well for Stokes. There has been no indication on when he will see the field again and even if he does, he looks to have been beaten out initially. Depth is never a bad thing to have but the Packers have shown they are not afraid to move on from a young player. Amari Rodgers was traded midseason and he was on the team for less than two years. If they think that Stokes has regressed and will not be the same player after the injury, they may simply decide to cut ties whether that is via trade or a simple cut.
The Green Bay Packers secondary looked like a bright spot in the Joe Barry led defense. Now, it has a lot of questions. The Eric Stokes situation is one to watch this offseason for the Packers.
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1 Comment
If Stokes is the #4 CB, then that’s a pretty good secondary. Sometimes injuries don’t rehab as quickly or as well as you’d hope….look at Bakhtiari. Myers and Jenkins both played last year coming back from a bad injury and you could tell it affected them, and they’re linemen, not guys who have to cover speedy guys downfield.