According to published reports, the Green Bay Packers offered cornerback Jaire Alexander a restructured contract earlier this week. This was done in an attempt to reach an agreement with the former Pro Bowl cornerback and to keep him in Green Bay for at least the 2025 season. The Packers should try to keep Alexander. Simply put, they are a better team with him than without him.
Alexander was the very first draft pick taken by Brian Gutekunst when he took over as Packers GM. He stepped in right away and started 11 games as a rookie back in 2018. His speed and confidence helped make him a quality cover corner.
By 2020, he earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time. He had now become a shutdown corner, somebody who the Packers could count on to minimize the impact of great receivers and to discourage quarterbacks from throwing too often to his side of the field.
In 2022, he returned to the Pro Bowl after recording a career-high five interceptions. Opposing passers posted a mere 63.7 quarterback rating when throwing to receivers covered by Alexander according to pro-football-reference.com. Unfortunately, it’s been tough going for Alexander since then.
In both 2023 and 2024, injuries limited the former Louisville star to just seven games per season. However, when he was able to play, he still played at a high level.
Despite Alexander’s absence last season, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was still able to put together a quality defensive backfield. He had to play more cover-two defenses and be a bit more conservative, but the Packers still ranked 13th in the league in passing yards allowed per game. This looks even better when you consider the Pack won 11 games, so teams were often forced to throw when they fell behind.
After the Packers lost to the Eagles in the playoffs in January, Alexander indicated he may not be back in Green Bay next season. Rumors started to spread about a possible split between the team and their top cornerback. But free agency and the draft came and went, and the Packers were unable to find a trade partner willing to offer them enough to acquire Alexander.
The Packers surprised a few people when they did not select a cornerback in the draft until the seventh round. They added Micah Robinson out of Tulane with the 237th overall pick.
Gutekunst did make a move to bolster the secondary during the offseason, adding free agent cornerback Nate Hobbs. While the former Raiders slot corner is a starting caliber player, he is not an elite cover corner. Neither are the team’s returning players at the position in Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine. That’s not to say they can’t be quality starters, but neither are considered Pro Bowl-caliber players right now like Alexander is.
Because it appears the market for Alexander isn’t great, the player is better off restructuring his contract than being cut and signing for less with another team. Alexander can probably collect nearly all the money due him under his present deal IF he plays nearly all of the Packers games in 2025. It would also give him a chance to prove he can stay healthy and play at an elite level. This would allow him to test the open market next offseason if he and the Packers eventually decide to part ways.
For the Packers, keeping Alexander also makes sense. A restructured deal would give the Packers an immediate talent boost at cornerback and could allow Hafley to play different types of coverage more frequently or even be more aggressive with some of his blitz packages.
The risk would be low. The Packers are not cap strapped right now and can afford to keep Alexander on the payroll in 2025. The restructured deal should lower his initial cap hit as well.
Overall, this can be a win-win for player and coach. The Packers are certainly a better team on paper with Jaire Alexander in the lineup. The big question now is whether he can stay on the field and contribute.