Silver And Black Pride
Early in training camp, the Las Vegas Raiders acquired defensive tackle Thomas Booker in a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles for cornerback Jakorian Bennett.
Let’s take a look at the results of the trade thus far:
Booker history:
Booker, 6-3, 301 pounds, played in 27 regular-season games in the NFL going to the. He played 10 games for the Houston Texans in 2022 and all 17 games for the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles last season. He had two career starts, one for the Texans and one for the Eagles. He had 33 career tackles and 1.5 career sacks. He was cut by Houston in 2023 and spent that season on the Eagles’ practice squad. Booker went to Stanford with Raiders cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly. The Texans drafted him in the fifth round in 2022.
Why Bennett was traded:
He isn’t a classic Pete Carroll-type cornerback. The 2023 fourth-round pick started 11 games for the Raiders in two seasons.
Booker was a Raider so far:
Booker is playing a lot for the Raiders as they move on from the Christian Wilkins era. He has played 61.5 percent of the snaps and has been in the same percentage range in all three games. He has shown good pass-rush burst at times and made a great down-field play in Week 3 when he caught a sprinting Marcus Mariota on a long run and knocked the ball out of his hands. Kelly recovered the ball, completing the play for his college teammate. Booker came to Las Vegas with a reputation for as a high-motor player and it is showing.
Bennett as an Eagle so far:
Bennett is a backup. He has played 24 defensive snaps and 20 on special teams. He has six tackles and one pass defensed. He was put on the injured reserve Wednesday.
Current thoughts on deal:
The Raiders are 1-2 and he Eagles are 3-0, so in the big picture, this hasn’t been a high-impact deal for either franchise. But Booker is definitely part of the Raiders’ rotation and he has a chance to grow in this defense. He may never be a great player, but he is contributing to this defense early in the season.
