{"id":21574,"date":"2025-04-28T12:43:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T12:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=21574"},"modified":"2025-04-28T12:43:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T12:43:16","slug":"breaking-how-the-packers-draft-affects-jaire-alexanders-future-and-more-takeaways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=21574","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : How the Packers\u2019 draft affects Jaire Alexander\u2019s future and more takeaways"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2014 Days before the 2025 NFL Draft, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was asked about cornerback Jaire Alexander\u2019s future. The team has been open to trading one of its best players of the last decade, presumably because of his price tag and lack of availability in recent years, but Gutekunst had left the door open for Alexander to stay.<\/p>\n

As part of his answer, Gutekunst said, \u201cWe\u2019ll see how the draft goes and then see where we are at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

The draft came and went with the Packers taking one cornerback. Not in the first round to potentially replace Alexander as Green Bay\u2019s No. 1 cornerback of the future, but with pick No. 237 in the seventh round. If Gutekunst thought Alexander\u2019s future would be influenced by who the Packers drafted at the position, Tulane cornerback Micah Robinson isn\u2019t doing anything to push Alexander out the door.<\/p>\n

That means Alexander is staying on the team for the 2025 season, right? Especially since head coach Matt LaFleur said Saturday that Alexander participated in the virtual first week of the voluntary offseason program?<\/p>\n

Not so fast.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo real updates on that,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cWe\u2019ll work through that as we go, but no updates there, and he is on our roster right now, and that\u2019s how we\u2019ll proceed. But we\u2019ll figure that (out) as we go along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, asked to clarify if \u201cthat\u2019s how we\u2019ll proceed\u201d meant Alexander is remaining on the team, Gutekunst said, \u201cNo, I\u2019m just saying nothing\u2019s changed. No updates. We\u2019ll proceed as we go for right now and we\u2019ll see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, unless a team that didn\u2019t get its desired cornerback(s) in the draft makes a mouth-watering offer for Alexander, there doesn\u2019t seem to be any point in trading him since the Packers wouldn\u2019t be able to use that draft capital to improve the team for another calendar year. Releasing him before June 1 would free up about $7.6 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap, while doing so after June 1 would free up about $17.1 million. But the Packers, who rank No. 11 in the NFL in cap space at $31.3 million, don\u2019t need to free up space for what they\u2019re expected to do (or not do) for the remainder of the offseason.<\/p>\n

Alexander can be among the league\u2019s best cornerbacks when healthy. He has made the All-Pro second team the last two times he\u2019s played more than seven games in a season, though those honors came in 2020 and 2022. Since the Packers can technically afford Alexander\u2019s salary (third-highest cap hit on the team, approximately $24.6 million, behind quarterback Jordan Love and defensive end Rashan Gary), is it worth rolling the dice on his health and keeping him on the team at this point? Or are there off-the-field factors playing into the decision? And if Alexander stays, would he amicably re-enter the locker room after knowing the only team for which he\u2019s ever played was open to trading him?<\/p>\n