Packers GM says team will not consider trade of defensive star
It doesn't sound like Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has any interest in even considering the possibility of trading star cornerback Jaire Alexander this offseason. Gutekunst was asked on Thursday if he would even consider the possibility, and quickly responded with a one word answer.
No.
That seems pretty definitive.
Alexander is one of the Packers' best defensive players but is coming off a very strange -- and at times frustrating -- 2023 season. He missed nine games due to injury and then missed a 10th game when the Packers suspended him for one game late in the season after he nearly messed up a coin toss.
Prior to the Packers' Week 16 game in Carolina, Alexander went to mid-field with the team's captains and told the referee Green Bay wanted to kick off to start the game instead of deferring their choice to the second half. That nearly cost the Packers a possession in a very important game for their playoff pursuit.
He was suspended by the team for Week 17.
But when he is healthy and playing at his best he can be one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL.
He was a second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection in 2020 and 2022, which were also the last two full seasons he played without injury. He was limited to just four games during the 2021 season.
He is still under contract for two more seasons and will count $23 million against the salary cap next season. Based on what Gutekunst said on Thursday, it should be expected he will be playing in Green Bay.
It only takes one phone call and one offer from another team to potentially change that, but Gutekunst seems to have no desire to even entertain that possibility.
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