The Green Bay Packers‘ approach to All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander’s current situation appears to be one of cautious deliberation.

Trade rumors have been swirling around Alexander since the 2024 season, and they’re still not calming down. At the NFL’s annual owners meetings on April 1, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said the team is “still working through” Alexander’s future.

Gutey also indicated a desire to resolve Alexander’s status before the NFL Draft, which kicks off on April 24. “I think that would be nice (to resolve it by the draft), but I don’t think you could say that for sure. That would be helpful,” he added.

At this point, a trade feels imminent.

Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report named the Packers as a team that “should” pursue a trade for disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson — and he came up with a trade proposal that would send Alexander to Cincy as part of the deal.

Packers Trade Proposal Would Swap CB Jaire Alexander for DE Trey Hendrickson

Here’s the trade proposed by Knox:

• Packers Would Get: Hendrickson, 2025 third-round pick (81st overall)
• Bengals Would Get: Alexander, 2025 second-round pick (54th overall)

“The Green Bay Packers have one of the NFL’s youngest rosters and are likely to continue building through their draft-and-develop strategy,” Knox wrote on April 4. “But targeting Hendrickson would make sense since they are also exploring the idea of trading cornerback Jaire Alexander. While Alexander has struggled to stay healthy over the past two years, the Packers aren’t about to let him go for pennies.”

Alexander, 28, has two years remaining on the four-year, $84 million extension he signed in October of 2022. His contract includes a $16.15 million base salary for 2025, with a cap hit of $25.86 million. If the Packers opt to trade or release him, they would incur $19.1 million in dead cap money.

Knox believes adding Hendrickson is something Green Bay might be interested in, as it would give them another beast on the D-line.

“Hendrickson would represent a solid return on Green Bay’s investment,” he added. “The Packers would likely need to sweeten the deal because of Alexander’s recent injury history, but a favorable day-2 pick swap might move the needle for Cincinnati. … Extending Hendrickson would be an option, as Green Bay still has $32.5 million in cap space available.”

Adding a Player Like Hendrickson Could Take Green Bay’s Defense to Next Level

It would certainly behoove the Packers to add another top-tier pass rusher to complement Rashan Gary.

In several key games, including their divisional round playoff loss to the 49ers, Green Bay struggled to pressure the quarterback without blitzing. A second elite rusher would lessen the need for high-risk blitz packages and allow defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to focus on creating mismatches and confusion with more organic four-man rushes.

Hendrickson, who turned 30 in December, is fresh from leading the league in sacks last season (17.5). The 4-time Pro Bowler also added 19 tackles-for-loss, 36 QB hits and two forced fumbles in 2024. He’d like a new deal, and he’s had zero issue expressing his discontent.

“That was a little disappointing because communication has been poor over the last couple months,” Hendrickson said on “The Pat McAfee Show” (h/t Knox). “That’s something I hold in high regard, and they have not communicated with my agent directly. It’s been something that’s a little bit frustrating.”

Historically, the Packers have been at their best when pairing strong coverage with relentless pressure. They’ll probably add a pass rusher in the draft. But if they could find a way to unload Alexander in exchange for the NFL’s reigning sack leader and a second-rounder, they’d instantly have one of the league’s top edge rushing duos.