Thursday Cheese Curds: Decision time on Eric Stokes’ 5th-year option has arrived

Today marks the deadline for 5th-year option decisions.

With the 2024 NFL Draft squarely in the rear-view mirror, Thursday brings a reason to look back more closely at the 2021 NFL Draft instead.

Today, the teams that made first-round picks in 2021 have a deadline to decide whether to extend fifth-year options to those players. For the Green Bay Packers, that means that they have a call to make on cornerback Eric Stokes, their selection with the 29th pick in that year’s draft.

Ultimately, this is probably a straightforward decision. Stokes has dealt with injuries the past two years after suffering a major leg injury in Detroit midway through his second season. That week 9 game was a brutal one for the Packers, as Rashan Gary also tore his ACL in that contest. Stokes eventually returned in week 7 this past fall, but he played in just three games last season with a pair of starts in weeks 14 and 15.

Ultimately, the cost of exercising the fifth-year option on Stokes is almost certainly too much for a player who has played just three games in the last season and a half. The projected value of the option is about $12.5 million for a cornerback who does not qualify for escalators (such as playing time or Pro Bowls), making the option highly unlikely.

Let’s keep an eye out for any confirmed news on Stokes throughout the day today while we continue to learn more about the Packers’ 2024 draft class.

Today marks the deadline for clubs to pick up fifth-year options on 2021 first-rounders | NFL.com
There may be some intrigue around the league today, but don’t expect the Packers to pick up Stokes’ option.

11 things to know about the Packers’ 2024 draft class | Packers.com
Wes Hodkiewicz gives us one interesting fact about each of the Packers’ 11 picks, including that Evan Williams’ father played for Cal against Stanford in the famous “The Band Is On the Field” game — as a teammate of the father of former Packer Richard Rodgers.

Packers LB Edgerrin Cooper ranks outside top 12 for Defensive Rookie of the Year odds | Packers Wire
Off-ball linebackers don’t win many awards any more, but to see Cooper as a massive long shot (35:1 odds) to win DROY is a bit surprising.

Execs unfiltered on NFL Draft: What were the Falcons thinking? Thoughts on all 16 NFC teams – The Athletic ($)
A couple of league execs really liked the Packers’ draft, particularly the way they are building out the defense, while another was hoping his own team could have landed running back MarShawn Lloyd.

Packers Have Had Success With NFL Draft Triple-Dipping | SI.com
Going back to 2017, the team has drafted three players at a single position group every year but one, and it has generally worked out really well for them.

North Carolina child’s ‘monster in the closet’ was in fact 50,000 bees in the wall | The Guardian
The one time that a kid is right about this is pretty terrifying, especially when hearing that the honey oozing down the bedroom’s pink wall looks like dripping blood.