GREEN BAY, Wis. — The saga between Jaire Alexander and the Green Bay Packers escalated to a point where matters were unable to be resolved. The 28-year-old cornerback is being released by the team on Monday, according to ESPN.
It's the latest and final development in what has been a strenuous, back-and-forth offseason for both sides. Since January, it appeared that Alexander was almost destined to play elsewhere in 2025. The Packers were adamant that they wanted to move on from the services of their former first-round pick who, once upon a time, was an All-Pro cornerback. The problem, though, is that his availability had become a massive concern. For as great as he can be, Alexander has played in just 14 games for the Packers over the last two seasons and 34 of their last 68.
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While durability has been an issue, there's no question that when Alexander is on the field, he's among the best at his position—those moments have just been few and far between as of late. The Packers issued a revised contract to Alexander's representation, John Thornton, however, an agreement was unable to be reached, leading to his release.
General manager Brian Gutekunst would've preferred to get something in return for Alexander rather than just outright releasing him and a trade has been on the table all offseason. It was just unlikely that any team was going to bite knowing that the Packers would ultimately just release Alexander anyway if nothing materialized.
Alexander would've been due $17.5 million dollars if he was on the Packers' active roster at the start of the season. Alternatively, they create roughly $6 million dollars with his release. He had told the team that he intended to report to mandatory minicamp on June 10, but rather than risk injury and further compromising their ability to trade him, the Packers decided to part ways instead.
The only two additions the Packers made to their cornerback room this spring was the acquisition of Nate Hobbs with a four-year, $48 million dollar contract and seventh-round pick that was spent on Tulane's Micah Robinson. There was still a place for Alexander had he returned to the lineup, albeit after some shuffling. Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine and Hobbs are projected to be the Packers' three primary cornerbacks with Javon Bullard, a second-round pick last spring, expected to compete once again for the starting nickelback job.
A former No. 18 overall selection and the first draft pick ever made by Gutekunst, Alexander played seven seasons for the Packers, grabbing 15 interceptions across 85 games, 75 defended passes and 315 total tackles. Opposing quarterbacks have an average passer rating of 81.8 when throwing into Alexander's coverage. He’s a two-time Second-team All-Pro and was voted to the Pro Bowl twice as well.
Zachary Jacobson is the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is entering his 11th season covering the Green Bay Packers. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter @zacobson or contact him via email at itszachariahj@gmail.com