The Green Bay Packers have had trade discussions with other teams about two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander, according to sources that spoke to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The team is reportedly open to trading their number-one cornerback “for the right price.”
Alexander, who just recently turned 28 years old, has two years left on his contract and is scheduled to make $37 million.
The longest breakup ever continues with Jaire Alexander… pic.twitter.com/YXN0bif7Wt
— CheeseheadTV 🧀 (@cheeseheadtv) February 27, 2025
“We’ve never really allowed agents to go out and talk to teams,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters. “I think that’s kind of [one of the] ones that probably happens anyway. And Jaire’s got a great agent. If we ever went down that route, I think it would be very easy to work with him and his team. I don’t really expect that, but we’ve never really done that.”
Though incredibly talented, Alexander has been limited to just seven total starts in back-to-back seasons due to injuries. He has been fully healthy just one time in the last four years, though he did make the Pro Bowl the season he wasn’t dealing with an injury.
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Alexander leaving is inevitable at this point
The relationship between the Green Bay Packers and Jaire Alexander has been incredibly rocky for months now.
It started during the regular season when Alexander injured his quadricep and was forced to miss two weeks. Alexander made it back to the starting lineup by Week Six only to injure his PCL against the Jacksonville Jaguars 14 days later, sidelining him for another three weeks. He returned to the field yet again in Week 11 against the Chicago Bears, but he would only play ten snaps before leaving that game with another injury.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst insisted there is no disconnect between Jaire Alexander and the team.
“There’s frustration from both sides that he can’t get out there.”
Gutekunst said his contract isn’t prohibitive on a return but “we’ll work through that.” pic.twitter.com/LSsv1UIuag
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) January 16, 2025
Things went from bad to worse when ESPN’s Rob Demovsky said earlier this month that multiple team sources said they were frustrated with Alexander.
“There are strong indications that Alexander’s time with the Packers will end without him playing another down,” Demovsky wrote on February 15th. “Multiple team sources have privately expressed their frustration with Alexander’s inability to stay healthy and/or play through injuries.”
Even if Alexander returns fully healthy next season, it sounds like the relationship between the Packers and their top cornerback is broken beyond repair.
Where will Jaire Alexander be traded?
Green Bay will probably want a high-value draft pick for Alexander, but I just don’t see that happening. The Packers don’t have any leverage in this scenario because it sounds like they have no interest in retaining him. As is often the case in these situations, the Packers will probably have to settle for less than they were hoping for. Then again, offloading his lofty contract will be viewed as a win for members of the organization.
It would be idiotic for Green Bay to trade Alexander to another NFC team. I believe that he still has a lot of gas left in the tank and will be effective wherever he goes. With that in mind, I see them shipping him off to an AFC team so they won’t have to worry about facing him once or twice a year.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are arguably the most cornerback-needy team in the NFL this off-season after they finished dead last in passing yards allowed per game. It also doesn’t hurt that they have more than enough cap space to keep him on the squad for the next two years. If Jacksonville offers to take on all of Alexander’s contract and sends a fourth- or fifth-round pick to Green Bay, I don’t know how the Packers could pass up that deal.
“We will prioritize people and players that are intangibly rich, and by doing so, they will elevate our ecosystem by being nothing more than themselves.”#DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/Jd1I0Ova7G
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) February 24, 2025
The Cincinnati Bengals desperately need help in the secondary after finishing last season 29th in passing touchdowns allowed (30). They have the cap space to make this deal happen right now, but that could change if they really want to extend Ja’Marr Chase, Trey Hendrickson, and Tee Higgins. Assuming they only get an extension done with Chase, then the Bengals could still afford to take on Alexander’s contract, adding a top-flight corner to a secondary that could lose three key contributors to free agency.
With $128 million in cap space, the New England Patriots could afford to add multiple Jaire Alexanders and still have enough money to bring in several other free agents. If they plan on letting starting cornerback Jonathan Jones walk in free agency, then Alexander could step in and be an immediate improvement for a defense that finished the regular season 26th in quarterback rating allowed.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have five cornerbacks that are expected to test free agency this offseason. That’s not ideal, considering they only had nine corners on their roster to start the 2024-25 season. Joey Porter Jr. is their number-one cornerback right now, but if Alexander comes in, I could see Porter Jr. moving to the other side of the field to let Jaire be their new number-one.
