Injuries, suspension, contract, cryptic post: what does the future hold for Jaire and the Packers?
The Green Bay Packers gave cornerback Jaire Alexander a four-year extension in 2022, making him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history. Right away, he made it worth it with an All-Pro season. In 2023, though, the situation got murkier. With several injuries (back, shoulder, ankle) and a team-imposed suspension for conduct detrimental to the […]
The Green Bay Packers gave cornerback Jaire Alexander a four-year extension in 2022, making him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history. Right away, he made it worth it with an All-Pro season. In 2023, though, the situation got murkier.
With several injuries (back, shoulder, ankle) and a team-imposed suspension for conduct detrimental to the Packers, Alexander played only seven games in the regular season and the two postseason contests. To finish up a strange season, Alexander made a cryptic post on Instagram.
It's difficult to know for sure what it means. It might be just an end-of-season post, or it might indicate a desire to move on. Either way, the relationship between Alexander and the Packers seems to be in a much better place than it was before the suspension in week 17.
"I thought he did an outstanding job," head coach Matt LaFleur said when asked how Alexander had responded to the suspension. "Sometimes, whether it's in football or in life, you go through some hardship and you are better for it. Ja can sit here and tell you, we had a great conversation a minute ago. As tough as that was on everybody here, I just think our level of communication will be so much clearer and consistent. There's a lot of good that actually ended up coming out of that."
There's also an age factor already. Sure, Alexander is still young at 26 years old. But cornerbacks, just like running backs, tend to have shorter careers. He has just played his sixth NFL season, and the prospects for older cornerbacks is concerning.
With all that in mind, a trade might not be totally out of the equation. But that would need to compensate for several factors — and the price would most likely be prohibitive for any potential acquiring team. If it's not such a high price, there's little reason for the Packers to move on.
Reasons to keep Jaire
For starters, Alexander is still a high-level player. Over the last four years, he has been a Second-Team All-Pro in two and has been injured in the other two. It means that when healthy, the cornerback is still an elite player — and you could see over the final stretches of the season how impactful he was, and how the defense got worse without him.
There's also a contract issue. Alexander is signed through 2026, and a trade would actually make the Packers lose cap space in 2024. If he stays with the Packers, his cap hit is slated to be $23.98 million — and the parties might restructure it to lower the number. If Alexander is traded, he leaves behind $27.456 million in dead money — and to aggravate it, the Packers wouldn't have the option to apply a post-June 1st designation, a tool limited to releases, and not for trades.
Jaire Alexander might decline a little bit, he might be a difficult person to handle. But he's simply too talented, and considering all these factors, the Packers just can't give up on him so fast. Most likely, he will be a Packer in 2024.
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