The Las Vegas Raiders are playing out the end of another lost campaign. While there have been a handful of positives, the 2025 NFL season has been largely diluted with doses of the dysfunction Raider Nation has become all-too accustomed to.
Questions about the future of head coach Pete Carroll will be answered soon enough, and the roster could (and should) look a lot different moving forward. Among last offseason's additions by the new regime, one man has stood out for all the right reasons all season long.
Cornerback Eric Stokes has stepped up big after being signed to one-year, $3.5 million contract last offseason. He has allowed an 83.5 passer rating and a 59.6 completion rate in coverage, with the 19th-best coverage grade among qualifying cornerbacks from Pro Football Focus.
Eric Stokes has made his case to stick around for next Raiders' reset
Of course, it has been quite profitable for quarterbacks to target the Raiders' other cornerbacks. Stokes is tied for just 76th out of those 112 qualifying corners with only 39 targets all season, according to PFF.
As part of ESPN's Week 16 NFL power rankings, each beat writer named the top contract extension candidate for the team that they cover. Raiders beat writer Ryan McFadden chose Stokes from an admittedly short list of candidates.
"The Raiders' starting cornerback is one of the few players who made a strong case to get an extension this offseason," McFadden wrote. "Stokes has given up a completion rate of 58.1% and a passer rating of 93.6 -- the lowest of his career."
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Raiders fans certainly wouldn't blame Stokes if he wanted to be one-and-done in Las Vegas, as things have been a disaster in his lone year with the franchise. However, Stokes reportedly told McFadden otherwise.
"Despite Las Vegas' struggles, Stokes told ESPN that he loves the organization and would be open to returning. 'If the opportunity is there, heck yeah,' he said. 'If not, I can't be sad about it. It's business.'"
Stokes has naturally bolstered what he'll be able to earn as he moves back toward hitting free agency, and lengthened his list of potential suitors, with how he has performed this season. Spotrac has tabbed his market value at $7.1 million per year, with a proposed three-year deal.
Of course, money will be no object for the Raiders, with the second-most 2026 cap space in the league according to Over The Cap. Stokes, still just 26 year old, has proven himself worthy of getting a chunk of that money, and if he wants to stay, general manager John Spytek should easily oblige.