What started as a building block for the defense now feels more like a ball and chain. It was a near-certainty before the offseason even began that the Green Bay Packers would move on from Jaire Alexander, yet here we are in mid-April, and he’s still on the roster.
Back in May 2022, Green Bay inked Alexander to a four-year, $84 million extension, complete with a record-setting $30 million signing bonus. At the time, it made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history in terms of average annual value.
Alexander was just 25 years old and fresh off his second Pro Bowl and second Second-Team All-Pro nod in three seasons. He wasn’t just a rising star—he was the centerpiece of a defense the Packers hoped could weather the storm in a pass-heavy league.
But injuries have a funny way of rewriting narratives.
He missed 11 games in 2021 with a shoulder issue. Green Bay chalked that up as a fluke, a pothole in an otherwise smooth road. But since then, the wheels have continued to wobble. Alexander has played in seven or fewer games in three of the last four seasons. For someone once known as a shutdown corner, he’s been shutting down more games than he’s played in.
And it’s not just the health. The Packers have reportedly grown tired of Alexander’s prima donna tendencies—something that’s easier to stomach when the production is elite and the availability is steady. But when your top-paid corner is spending more time in the trainer’s room than the huddle, the patience starts to wear thin.
His contract only complicates matters.
Alexander carried a $23.5 million cap hit in 2024. That balloons to $24.6 million in 2025 and an eye-popping $27 million in 2026—nearly 10 percent of the projected cap. They’re paying top-shelf money for bottom-shelf availability.
Green Bay can get out from under some of that financial weight, but the clock is ticking. If they move Alexander before June 1, they’ll take a $17 million dead cap hit in 2025 but free up $7.6 million in space this year. More importantly, they’ll clear his entire 2026 salary from the books, giving them a clean slate moving forward.
The dilemma, of course, is what comes next. Gutekunst would rather trade him than cut bait for nothing, and watching Alexander sign with the Vikings or Bears and pick off Jordan Love next season would be salt in the wound.
But beggars can’t be choosers, and if the phone isn’t ringing, it may be time to rip off the Band-Aid. Holding out hope for a trade that never comes only delays the inevitable. The Packers have younger, cheaper options at cornerback, and dragging this saga into the summer would only create more noise around a defense trying to turn the page.
The writing’s on the wall—and it’s in permanent marker. Alexander’s contract, attitude, and availability no longer align with where the Packers are headed.
Green Bay doesn’t need drama. It needs durability, discipline, and dependability. If they want to build a defense worthy of contending, it’s time to move on from the diva and let someone else deal with the encore.
