The Green Bay Packers And Pittsburgh Steelers Named In Significant Trade (Report)

The Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers will both look to build on their 2023 campaigns.  The Steelers finished 10-7 on the year and earned a spot in the playoffs.  However, a 31-17 loss to the Bills in the Wild Card round ended their season.  Going into 2024 with Russell Wilson (and possible Justin Fields?) under center, their expectations have only gotten higher.

The Packers fell just three points shy of reaching the NFC Championship game after the team caught fire during the second half of the season.  Going into 2024, making the playoffs feels like the “floor” for this team.

However, could the Packers and Steelers be in business before the season even starts?

The Green Bay Packers And Pittsburgh Steelers Have Been Named In Massive Trade

According to FanSided’s Cody Williams:

The Packers elected not to pick up the fifth-year option of 2021 first-round pick Eric Stokes this offseason. When Stokes was selected 29th overall out of Georgia, he came with a ton of hype as a potential long-term pairing with Jaire Alexander and looked the part as a rookie.

In the two seasons since, unfortunately, Stokes has struggled mightily to stay healthy, playing only a combined 587 snaps over two seasons.

While Green Bay’s cornerback depth isn’t in an ideal situation, they do have an emerging late-round playmaker in Carrington Valentine and seem hopeful for 2024 seventh-rounder Kalen King recapturing form from earlier in his college career alongside Alexander, Keisean Nixon and Corey Ballentine.

Thus, they could be intrigued by recouping some draft capital in a trade for Stokes instead of incurring the risk of losing him for nothing netxt offseason as a free agent.

So, what would the Steelers trading for Eric Stokes ultimately look like? Here’s a proposed package that should check the right boxes for the Packers and Steelers alike to get a deal done.

Pittsburgh Steelers Receive:

• CB Eric Stokes
• 2026 Sixth-Round Pick

Green Bay Packers Receive:

• 2025 Fifth-Round Pick

On an expiring contract, the Packers could never expect a king’s ransom in return for Stokes. At the same time, though, Green Bay doesn’t have to trade Stokes, so sending a conditional seventh-round pick or something like that wouldn’t necessarily get a deal done.

🧀 Is Eric Stokes still good?👇 pic.twitter.com/YFCEWlkYcb

— CheeseheadTV 🧀 (@cheeseheadtv) May 13, 2024

Will The Packers Think About Moving On From Yet Another Defensive Back?

The Packers moved on from Darnell Savage, Jonathan Owens, and Rudy Ford this off-season.  After signing Xavier McKinney and drafting three safeties, the Packers have effectively revamped their secondary in one off-season.

However, the cornerback position has been left alone for the most part.  Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Carrington Valentine, and Keisean Nixon remain the Packers’ top four cornerbacks.  It is unlikely they’d move on from any one of those four unless they had an immediate backup plan (much like they did with Aaron Jones).

Stokes showed a ton of promise his rookie year.  If he is able to get on the field and stay healthy in 2024, he will be given every opportunity to succeed.  Jeff Hafley intends on bringing a new (and more physical) philosophy to this defense.  One that the cornerbacks could greatly benefit from.

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