Watching an ex find a new relationship can be brutal. In the case of the Green Bay Packers and Jaire Alexander, the relationship had run its course, and both parties were ready to move on.
On Wednesday, Alexander agreed to a deal with the Baltimore Ravens. The contract highlighted that the Packers were proven right about his market value. Alexander signed a one-year deal with the Ravens worth $4 million in guaranteed money and up to $6 million with incentives peppered in.
Green Bay started shopping Alexander early in the offseason. The $17 million price tag hanging over his head was deemed too rich for a player who has appeared in just 34 of the last 68 regular-season games in the last four years.
The Packers pivoted following waves of free agency and the draft and became more open to bringing back Alexander. The caveat was retaining the veteran cornerback on a restructured deal with incentives filling the offer sheet. Alexander and his representatives declined, with reports surfacing that Alexander believed he’d get more on the open market.
While we never learned Green Bay’s final offer, the contract Baltimore offered Alexander on Wednesday had to be less than he expected.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Alexander turned down more money to be in Baltimore with Lamar Jackson and to play for a contender. While there may be some truth to this, let’s not act like the difference in the quality of the teams was significant.
Had Alexander been offered anywhere close to the initial $17 million he was scheduled to make in Green Bay this year, would he have turned that down to take substantially less, more like he did with the Ravens?
Let’s not live in a fantasy land.
In reality, Alexander probably had slightly better offers with a little bit more guaranteed money from a couple of other teams. Instead, he opted for a little less to play with his former college teammate and a true AFC contender.
All of this proves that Green Bay was right to pivot financially and try to work out a better deal. When Alexander didn’t bite, the split was inevitable.
It’d be fascinating to find out the specifics of what general manager Brian Gutekunst was willing to offer in the restructure the Packers offered. However, those are details we may never learn.
After releasing the veteran cornerback, when a reporter asked Gutekunst about bringing back Alexander with no adjustment to his contract, Green Bay’s general manager made a good point about going down that path too many times at this point.
We’ve done that the past few years and it hasn’t really worked out for us. As we went through it, we looked at a lot of different angles, what might be right for the club, and this is kind of where we ended up. There’s no bad blood. It’s just one of those things where over the last couple years, it hasn’t worked out exactly how we wanted it to through no fault of anybody. It’s just injuries kind of took some games away from him.
Injuries were the reason for all of this.
Alexander was still playing at a premier level on the field. As the old sports adage goes, availability is the best ability, and Alexander couldn’t offer that any longer. They adjusted accordingly with a contract viewed as a compromise, and Alexander thought he’d do better on the market.
The market said otherwise.
Alexander now joins forces with a loaded cornerback room and secondary in Baltimore. With Marlon Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, Chidobe Awuzie, and now Alexander all in the mix at cornerback, the Ravens boast one of the best groups in the league. Factor in that they have Kyle Hamilton and 2025 first-round pick Malaki Starks at safety, and it’s an embarrassment of riches in the secondary.
Green Bay prepared for this by signing Nate Hobbs early in free agency. The Keisean Nixon, Hobbs, and Carrington Valentine trio will be expected to carry the load at corner for the Packers with Alexander gone. Time will tell if the front-end depth is enough for Green Bay in a division loaded with superstar wide receivers.
The Packers went for a resolution that was molded by a contract restructure. Alexander declined, and had every right to do so. Ultimately, the market spoke loudly and showed Green Bay was right not to overpay for someone with serious concerns about availability.