Paul Bretl | 6/9/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers are reportedly releasing star cornerback Jaire Alexander, according to Ian Rapoport.
Alexander’s future with the team has been uncertain since the 2024 season ended. During locker room cleanout following Green Bay’s season-ending loss to Philadelphia, Alexander told members of the media that he didn’t know if he was going to be with the team this season and had “nothing good to say.”
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Then, throughout the offseason, GM Brian Gutekunst was also very non-committal about Alexander’s future with the team.
“We invested a lot in Jaire and want to make sure, if he’s not gonna be on our football team helping us win games, that we get something back for that investment,” Gutekunst said in late March. “So we’ll see where it goes, but again, working with him weekly and trying to figure out what’s best for both Jaire and the Packers.”
Rapoport would go on to say that the Packers and Alexander agreed to explore trade options earlier this offseason, but nothing was able to materialize prior to the NFL draft. A likely hurdle that the Packers and Alexander had to overcome in those talks with other teams was his contract.
Alexander is due $16.15 million this season and $18.15 million in 2026, which are hefty amounts for a team to take on with him having played a combined 14 games over the last two seasons, and less than seven games in three of the last four years.
A restructured deal was going to have to be a part of that trade equation when it came to getting a deal done and agreed upon by Alexander. However, in doing so, Alexander not only takes a pay cut, but he also doesn’t get to decide where he wants to go either.
With the trade option off the table, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman would then report recently that the Packers offered Alexander a restructured contract, but obviously, the two sides were unable to agree to terms, and it’s not known if Alexander even entertained the idea of taking a pay cut.
Alexander, who was Gutekunst’s very first draft pick as GM back in 2018, was an All-Pro during the 2020 and 2022 seasons, and when on the field, has continued to play at a high level. This includes this past season, where Alexander allowed a completion rate of just 56% on 25 targets with a pick-six and three pass breakups.
Unfortunately, Alexander has played in only 34 out of a possible 68 games since 2021. In 2023, knee and shoulder injuries, along with a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, limited him to just seven games.
In this most recent season, Alexander played in seven games after suffering a knee injury in Week 8. He tried to return in Week 11 against the Bears, but exited after 10 plays. He would return to practice a few weeks later, but not to game action, and ended up undergoing surgery late in the year.
“I know it’s been really, really frustrating for not only him as a player, but us as a club,” said Gutekunst in his season-ending press conference. “Just when you have a player, who’s done what he’s done for us in the past, and then not being able to get him out on the field consistently, that’s tough.”
From a contract standpoint, there was no hard deadline for when a decision had to be made by the Packers and Alexander, but mandatory minicamp, which for the Packers begins on Tuesday, sure felt like a soft deadline for a decision to be made. If talks between the two hadn’t progressed at this point after months having the opportunity to do so, then that probably wasn’t ever going to happen.
By moving on from Alexander, the Packers will take on just over $17 million in dead salary cap. With this being a post-June 1st release, $7.5 million of that dead cap will hit the books in 2025, and $9.5 million will hit the 2026 salary cap. In total, the Packers save $17.2 million on the cap in 2025 and $17.5 million in 2026.
The Packers will head into the 2025 season with Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs, and Carrington Valentine as their top three outside cornerback options on the depth chart.
“I love 2-3 to death. That’s my boy,” Keisean Nixon said. “If he comes back and he’s here, we’d love to have him. I love to play with Jaire. That’s just what it is since I’ve been here. Whatever happens, happens. We don’t have control over that. If he’s here, we’re going to rock out. If he’s not, we’re still going to rock out. That’s just how it goes.”