The Dolphins Should Not Sign Jaire Alexander

I expect many Dolphins faithful saw the news about the Green Bay Packers releasing Jaire Alexander and thought he would fit in well in Miami.

At first glance, it makes sense. Alexander is a big name who has proven to be elite in the past. In 2020 and 2022, he was a second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler. That early success led the Packers to sign him to a 4 year, $84 million contract. That year, he would be named the 26th best player in the league by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023. 

Unfortunately, in the 2 seasons since, Alexander has struggled to find the field, playing in only 14 combined games.

The 2023 season saw him dealing with back and shoulder injuries that kept him out of 9 games, and he would miss one more by way of suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

The 2024 season came with its own issues, as a quadriceps injury kept him out for two games and a PCL tear ended his season after week 11. He will be heading into his eighth season and has looked like a shell of his former self while on the field. His play has declined significantly, to the point where Green Bay attempted to trade him.

However, his massive contract made it challenging to find a trade partner willing to assume the financial burden.

Ultimately, he was released, saving the team $17.1 million this year. 

Now I know that an expensive aging player with a history of injuries seems like a dream signing for the Dolphins’ front office.

However, I wrote about how things have begun to change in Miami in terms of their willingness to reward players who hold out last week. I believe it stands to reason that they will also change the type of free agents they pursue. In the past, they were not so worried about injury history. In January, Chris Grier addressed that trend in an after-season press conference. 

“It’s always a fine line. There’s a 100% injury rate in football. We always talk about that. Mike (McDaniel) has said it numerous times. We always look at it. We always have discussions with our medical staff.” He said. “We look at guys’ injury history from when they were in college and high school stuff, too, when we go back. So there’s always risk in signing players, but you also don’t want to miss the opportunity of adding a good player to your roster and being afraid to make a move and missing out on someone that may become a really good player for you because you’re scared of something that happened a couple of years ago.”

Suppose the Dolphins are serious about changing their ways not just for this season but to position themselves to contend in the future. In that case, the last thing they need to do is talk themselves into a likely expensive injury-prone option.

There is no doubt that the team is in need of help at cornerback but it feels like Jaire Alexander is more of a big name than a big producer these days. All that being said I would not be surprised if the Dolphins fall back into bad habits and fans find themselves disappointed as Alexander is missing time for the Dolphins this season. 

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