The Eagles have agreed to trade defensive lineman Thomas Booker IV to the Raiders for cornerback Jakorian Bennett, according to a league source and sources from both teams. The trade is contingent on physicals for both players.<\/p>\n
From the Eagles\u2019 standpoint, the deal signals how their cornerback battle, between Kelee Ringo and Adoree\u2019 Jackson, has stagnated. Ringo has been inconsistent; he\u2019s surrendered deep completions and been flagged for pass interference with regularity throughout training camp. The Eagles know how narrow the margin of error is along the defensive perimeter; were it not for Darius Slay\u2019s reliable play in the final minutes of last year\u2019s NFC divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams, the Eagles might not have advanced to the NFC title game and gone on to win their second Super Bowl.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also worth noting general manager Howie Roseman\u2019s lack of significant investments at cornerback after releasing Slay. In a cost-cutting offseason, the Eagles reached an affordable one-year deal with Jackson, who\u2019d been relegated by the New York Giants to a reserve role in 2024, and spent a fifth-round pick on Mac McWilliams. Such moves signaled a belief in Ringo\u2019s development. The cornerbacks\u2019 collective performance \u2014 and McWilliams\u2019 recent quad injury \u2014 created a sense of urgency, one that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio\u2019s plan to travel Quinyon Mitchell with top receivers could not mask. Now, Ringo and Jackson must also fend off the 24-year-old Bennett, who started 11 games over the past two seasons for Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
From the Raiders\u2019 standpoint, Bennett had a rough rookie season in 2023 during which he battled multiple injuries and played poorly, but he rebounded as a starter last year. Still, he couldn\u2019t stay healthy. He suffered a torn labrum and had to undergo season-ending surgery after 10 games.<\/p>\n
The cornerback was ready to go by the time OTAs rolled around, but he quickly fell behind in the team\u2019s ongoing cornerback competition. Eric Stokes and Darien Porter handled the majority of the first-team reps while Bennett was entrenched with the backups. Then, during training camp, Bennett was also surpassed by Decamerion Richardson.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing that I haven\u2019t been through before, you know?\u201d Bennett said last week. \u201cI always had to get out the mud, you know. And, man, that\u2019s nothing I shy away from. That\u2019s who I am. I like to persevere. I like to be resilient, and that\u2019s when I see the best JB, when I\u2019m just focused on me, focused on just being present and just controlling what I can control at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stokes, Porter and Richardson all have something that Bennett can\u2019t match: size. They fit coach Pete Carroll\u2019s archetype for cornerbacks \u2014 tall, long and fast. Although Bennett is plenty fast and was practicing well, he\u2019s only 5-foot-11. Once it became clear that Bennett likely wasn\u2019t going to be in the rotation (barring an injury to one of the other corners), the Raiders decided to move on.<\/p>\n