For the last year-and-a-half, the Packers and cornerback Jaire Alexander have been in contract discussions as injuries limit what Green Bay is getting out of an expensive contract. The two parties were hoping to resolve things before last week’s draft, but after failing to do so, they will continue to work toward a reconciliation, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
Back in 2022, the Packers signed Alexander to a four-year, $84M extension, and the then-25-year-old delivered a Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro season as a result. In the past two years since then, though, Alexander has only made seven starts in each season due to an assortment of injuries. Because of the missed time, the team explored trading its veteran cornerback. But, since then, the no resolution has presented itself.
Demovsky cites a source who says that the options for Alexander include a release, a trade, or a return to Green Bay — essentially, “all options are still on the table.” The reason a trade or release are options worth considering is because Alexander’s extension has a potential out built into it between the 2024 and 2025 NFL seasons.
Instead of paying out salary cap hits of $24.64M and $27.02M over the next two seasons, Green Bay could cut or trade Alexander with only $17.04M of dead cap. If they do either with a post-June 1 designation, the dead cap figure is reduced to just $7.52M.
Based on the roster makeup, there has to be some preference for him to return to health and to the lineup. According to Pro Football Focus, Alexander was the only Green Bay corners to rank in the top 50 of the position, coming in at 19th. Behind him, the highest-ranked cornerbacks on the roster are Carrington Valentine (54), Keisean Nixon (63) and Nate Hobbs (73).
The team waited until the seventh round to add any help in the draft, taking Tulane’s Micah Robinson late on Day 3, so one would assume that there’s hope in Green Bay that an amended deal can be reached. If not, it’s certainly possible that Alexander could end up playing elsewhere in 2025.
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