Raiders trading Jakorian Bennett to Eagles is a head-scratcher

Raiders trading Jakorian Bennett to Eagles is a head-scratcher originally appeared on The Sporting News

Howie Roseman may have done it again.

On Monday night, the Las Vegas Raiders traded cornerback Jakorian Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for defensive lineman Thomas Booker.

It was not totally shocking that the Raiders traded Bennett, given the fact that he didn’t fit the mold of a Pete Carroll cornerback because of his size (5-foot-11, 195 pounds) and was very clearly going to be buried on the depth chart despite being Las Vegas’ best cornerback last season.

However, the return the Raiders received was surprising.

Following a brutal rookie campaign, Bennett turned the corner in a big way in 2024. He improved his completion percentage against (68.4% to 52.3%), and Bennett’s passer rating allowed was down by nearly 35 points (102.5 to 67.7).

The only blemish on Bennett’s 2024 campaign was an injury that limited him to 10 games and ended his season early.

Bennett played through a torn labrum, which makes his breakout season even more impressive. The Maryland product also admitted he’s the healthiest he has been since college after having issues with both shoulders in recent years.

“It feels amazing, man. I haven’t had both my shoulders since college,” Bennett said in June. “I’d go out there during games, knowing my shoulder was going to pop out. Probably last season my shoulder popped out like five times. Because I had a torn labrum, you know?

“A lot of people don’t know that but I was just thugging it out. They’d put it back in and I’d go back in or whatever, but it feels good to have it back right. Just time to take that next step,” he added.

Now compare what Bennett has shown to Las Vegas’ return in Booker, who has appeared in 27 games over two seasons in the NFL and didn’t play a single snap in 2023. Booker has just two starts under his belt in that span, tallying 1.5 sacks, 33 tackles (three for loss), three QB hits and two passes defensed.

Booker did show some promise in 2024 and nobody is saying he’s a bad player, but he hasn’t shown the signs of being a starting-caliber player like Bennett has, which makes this deal feel uneven, at best.

Entering the offseason, Bennett was widely expected to be a starter, but clearly the team preferred disappointing former first-round pick and free-agent signing Eric Stokes, 2024 fourth-round pick Decamerion Richardson and 2025 third-round selection Darien Porter.

The problem with that trio is Richardson and Porter are unproven, and Stokes has struggled mightily over four seasons. The Raiders should have held on to Bennett for more depth in a division where they’ll be facing Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Bo Nix two times each.

Granted, the team did need more depth along the defensive line after the Christian Wilkins fiasco, but trading a promising and starting-caliber 24-year-old cornerback to address that need wasn’t a decision we can get on board with.

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