Not much went right for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2024. The team finished with a 4-13 record and entered this offseason with plenty of holes to fill.
One of the notable moves made by the team in free agency was the addition of cornerback Eric Stokes. The former Green Bay Packer was brought in to add depth on the boundary after Jack Jones struggled mightily as a starter in 2024.
Jones finished with a 53.9 Pro Football Focus grade and missed a whopping 15 tackles. At the very least, he'll have to compete for a starting job in 2025.
With Jones' spot in jeopardy, Moe Moton of Bleacher Report believes the inconsistent cornerback could be traded. Moton proposed a trade that would send Jones to the Carolina Panthers for a 2025 seventh-round pick.
Regarding that potential swap, Moton offered the following:
Raiders' new lead skipper Pete Carroll tends to favor bigger defensive backs. At 5'11", 175 pounds, Jones may be available for a late-round pick, and if he is, Carolina should make a move for him to bolster its secondary.
Jones, 27, would reunite with former Raiders safety Tre'Von Moehrig, who signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the Panthers.
As Moton mentioned, Jones could fit in better in Carolina than Vegas. New head coach Pete Carroll has historically preferred corners with size, and the Panthers just need to add talent after sporting the worst defense in the league last season.
Jones had a supporter in Antonio Pierce, but a new coaching staff could spell the end of Jones' Vegas tenure, especially after there were questions about his effort during the 2024 campaign.
Jones came to the Raiders in a midseason waiver claim in 2023 after being let go by the Patriots and played great. In 2024, Jones saw a dip in his performance over 17 games and collected 69 tackles, three interceptions, and 16 pass deflections
For the Raiders, trading Jones would leave the team with Decamerion Richardson and Stokes competing for the boundary spot opposite Jakorian Bennett, who is locked in after a bounce-back season.
The Raiders currently have the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and a corner like Michigan's Will Johnson could be added to bolster the room.
