The Philadelphia Eagles have acquired cornerback Jakorian Bennett from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for defensive tackle Thomas Booker. The announcement was made Tuesday, ahead of the team’s preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals at Lincoln Financial Field.
Head Coach Nick Sirianni addressed the trade before practice as both teams awaited physicals to finalize the deal. “I think Howie (Roseman) does such a good job of continually trying to improve our football team,” Sirianni said. “No one does it better than he does. We thought that it was an opportunity to add some depth at corner. We feel good about our depth, obviously we’ll miss Book. We wish him the best. We feel good about our depth at defensive tackle, but just a way to add some depth there at corner.”
Jakorian Bennett, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 200 pounds, is entering his third NFL season after being drafted by the Raiders in the fourth round in 2023 out of Maryland. Last season with Las Vegas, Bennett started seven of ten games played at outside cornerback and recorded eight passes defensed. According to Pro Football Focus data, he allowed only 45 percent of pass attempts thrown his way to be completed—a figure ranking third-best among players with more than 250 coverage snaps last year—and did not allow any touchdowns while holding opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of 57.9.
In his rookie year, Bennett played in fourteen games with four starts and tallied thirty-two tackles along with three passes defensed.
“We liked his tape coming out. We liked his tape when he was with the Raiders,” Sirianni added. “He’s got speed, coverage ability, special teams value, so we’re excited to have him.”
Bennett joins a group competing for starting roles at cornerback alongside Quinyon Mitchell, Adoree’ Jackson, Kelee Ringo and others.
Sirianni described how they plan to integrate Bennett: “We’ll catch him up in some off time, catch him up during the meetings, and have some other things to get him ready to go.”
Bennett’s athleticism has been noted since his performance at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine where he posted notable results: second-fastest overall 40-yard dash time (4.3 seconds), fourth-fastest ten-yard split (1.48 seconds), and top five marks among cornerbacks in both vertical jump (40.5 inches) and broad jump (11 feet 1 inch).
At Maryland, Bennett earned two honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference selections and led all FBS players in passes defensed from 2021-22 with twenty-nine total.
Booker leaves after spending last season on Philadelphia’s active roster following a year on their practice squad; he appeared in every game during both regular season and playoffs after previously playing as a rookie for Houston.
