Packers send strong message to Jaire Alexander with new offer as important deadline approaches in Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers are open to keeping cornerback Jaire Alexander around, just not under the current contract numbers. According to Matt Schneidman from The Athletic, the Packers offered Alexander a contract adjustment, which the player hasn't accepted yet.

"According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Packers have proposed a restructured contract to Alexander, which tangibly demonstrates their interest in retaining the two-time All-Pro cornerback during an offseason in which they have been open to trading him. Alexander and his agent, John Thornton of Roc Nation, have not agreed to a restructuring yet."

Jaire Alexander is slated to make $17.5 million in 2025 and $19.5 million in 2026, but none of it is guaranteed. Therefore, the Packers are offering a paycut—which may be significant, but realistically would involve incentives based on playing time for Jaire to recoup part of the money.

Earlier this year, the Packers showed an inclination to trade Alexander away. However, interested teams were also not interested to pay Jaire what he's slated to earn right now. And for the Packers, if Alexander is willing to take a paycut, keeping him on the roster might make more sense than trading him for a low draft compensation in 2026.

"We invested a lot in Jaire and want to make sure, if he's not gonna be on our football team helping us win games, that we get something back for that investment," general manager Brian Gutekunst has said.

Deadlines

There are two important dates in regards to Alexander's contract. First, the Packers open their organized team activities (OTAs) on Tuesday, and the cornerback has a $700,000 bonus tied to offseason participation.

Additionally, June 1 is a big demarcation point if the Packers end up trading or releasing the player. After that day, the acceleration from cap hits don't come before next year, meaning that a move would clear up more cap space in 2025.

If Alexander is traded or released starting on June 2, the Packers would have $7.518 million in dead money this year, opening up $17.117 million in cap space. The remaining $9.525 million in dead money would only hit in 2026.

Keeping Jaire Alexander would be important for the secondary, who has a depth issue. The team only signed Nate Hobbs in free agency and drafted Micah Robinson in the seventh round. Nevertheless, it has to make sense financially, because the Packers' cap situation is not that comfortable next year.