The Green Bay Packers are set to make a significant change as they’re releasing star cornerback Jaire Alexander after seven seasons with the team. The two sides had been exploring trade options throughout the offseason, but nothing came to fruition and ultimately the Packers decided to move on.
Alexander, the Packers’ first-round pick (18th overall) in 2018, is a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro who collected 287 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 12 interceptions, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries during his seven years in Green Bay.
When healthy, he has been one of the best cornerbacks in football, but has increasingly been unable to remain on the field in recent years. Since 2021, Alexander has played in just 34 of 68 possible games. He’s played more than seven games in a season just once during that span, though he did make the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro second team during that 2022 campaign.
Alexander was due a $16.15 million base salary in 2025, which was the second-to-last year of his four-year, $80 million contract extension. He would have counted against Green Bay’s books for $24.6 million, thanks to his prorated signing bonus, but with his post-June 1 release, will instead carry a $7.5 million cap charge this year, saving Green Bay just over $17.1 million.
Of course, Alexander is still just 28 years old and he should have plenty of career left ahead of him. With that in mind, we wanted to identify some possible landing spots that might make sense for the oft-injured star corner.
The Dolphins are trying to find a home for their own unhappy cornerback in Jalen Ramsey at the moment, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be interested in Alexander now that he’s available. The secondary is already an issue for Miami’s defense, and it will be even more of one if the Dolphins are able to come to an agreement on a Ramsey deal. Alexander would immediately become the top cornerback on their roster.
The Niners lost Charvarius Ward in free agency this offseason, and currently seem likely to start either journeyman Tre Brown or third-round pick Upton Stout opposite Deommodore Lenoir at one of their corner spots. Bringing in another veteran — even one with injury issues — is an idea that has some merit, especially considering how much cap room the 49ers have on their hands. According to Over the Cap, only the Patriots have more cap space than the Niners’ current $46.6 million in room.
Philly is always aggressive in going after high-level talent, and Alexander fits the bill. He does even more so because the Eagles allowed both Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers to leave for greener pastures in free agency this offseason, leaving them with Kelee Ringo or Adoree’ Jackson as their other starting corner across from 2024 first-rounder Quinyon Mitchell. Adding Alexander to the mix would allow them to better replicate what they had last year with Mitchell, Slay and slot corner Cooper DeJean.
The Rams, like the Eagles, are always interested in going after star players. Their cornerback situation is a bit more settled with Darious Williams and Ahkello Witherspoon on the outside and Quentin Lake in the slot, but both Williams and Witherspoon have experience bumping inside and adding Alexander to the mix would raise the talent level of the entire group.
Call me a broken record here, but we know the Ravens have a history of going after star contributors — especially if they don’t count against the compensatory pick formula, which Alexander wouldn’t because he was released after June 1. Baltimore signed Chidobe Awuzie earlier this offseason to play opposite 2024 first-rounder Nate Wiggins, but Alexander is the more talented player. Especially after the Ravens lost safety Ar’Darius Washington, which will affect their versatility on the back end, it would not be surprising if they were interested in adding another high-level defensive back. They’re always looking for ways to keep their options open with how they deploy their personnel.
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Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores loves to get creative with his pressures up front, and to do that, you need extremely reliable defensive backs. The Vikings have been getting by with their versatile crew over the last two years, but Alexander would be an immediate upgrade on almost anybody in the secondary. Pairing him with Byron Murphy, Harrison Smith, Josh Metellus and more would make for a really interesting back end of the defense.
Dallas has a lot of potential answers in the secondary aside from Daron Bland, but none of them is a guarantee and a bunch of them are injured. Trevon Diggs is working his way back from his second major injury. Third-round pick Shavon Revel is recovering from an ACL tear. Trade acquisition Kaiir Elam hasn’t lived up to his first-round draft billing. Alexander is obviously another potential injury risk, but at his best he would be by far Dallas’ best option.
Who wouldn’t want to watch Alexander play across from A.J. Terrell? That would be incredibly fun. The Falcons only have around $5 million in cap space, so they would have to move a bunch of money around to make something like this work, but on the field, it makes sense given that Atlanta current has Mike Hughes, fourth-round pick Bill Bowman Jr. and Mike Ford as its perimeter options outside of Terrell.
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Author: Jared Dubin
June 9, 2025 | 9:45 am
