GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers arrive in Brazil Wednesday for their season opener there Friday night against the Eagles.

For Packers cornerback Eric Stokes, playing in Friday's game will be the culmination of a long journey.

Last year, Stokes was often seen in the locker room on crutches because of leg injuries. This year, he’s healthy and can play. That’s why Friday night will be extra special to him.

“It will feel great,” said Stokes. “I always thank the man above. There are so many things that put me through. Little obstacles and stuff just to get back on that field Friday, it’s going to be unbelievable.” 

Stokes is anxious to see how this Packers defense, now coordinated by Jeff Hafley, will measure up against a talented Eagles’ offense.

“You always gotta have that confidence, but you already know what kind of test they got over there too,” said Stokes. “They got some firepower and all that stuff. We’re trying to set a championship defense around here. We’re trying to be known as a defensive team. Whenever they think about the Packers, they think about defense. It’s gonna start Friday night. Friday night is another test to show everybody.”

Stokes has taken Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur’s words to heart, thinking about the game more than Brazil.

“Just going to keep the main thing the main thing,” said Stokes. “There’s so many little obstacles going on outside of football that we just can’t worry about. We just gotta know about when it comes Friday, when the ball kicked off on us and stuff, that’s the only thing that matters. Everything else, it goes out the window. We’re just kinda here to play ball. We don’t really care if it’s in the parking lot, wherever, we just come here to play football.”

Stokes is very familiar with Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith of the Eagles from when they played at Alabama and he was at Georgia. The scrambling ability of Hurts presents a unique challenge.

“He causes a lot of havoc with that, but you get paid to pretty much plaster. That’s one of the jobs we gotta do.”