Jaire Alexander knew his career with the Green Bay Packers was coming to an end long before they released him.
The former Packers defensive back opened up about the end of his career in Green Bay and why he decided to hang up his cleats in an essay for the Players’ Tribune that dropped Wednesday.
Alexander, still just 29 years of age, spent his first seven seasons with the Packers after they picked him with the 18th overall selection of the 2018 NFL Draft.
He had 12 interceptions, 287 tackles and 1.5 sacks while playing 78 games for the Packers before they released him during the 2025 offseason.
Jaire Alexander Knew his Days in Green Bay Were Over When They Wouldn’t Give him an iPad
Alexander had been the subject of trade rumors throughout the 2025 offseason. But he knew his days as a member of the Packers were numbered long before they let him go.
“I knew it was over for me in Green Bay when they wouldn’t get me the iPad,” Alexander said in his essay. “I was coming off knee surgery on New Year’s Eve and having to miss the playoff game because of that injury.
“So I’m in recovery mode, and a few weeks into the new year I call up the Packers like, ‘Hey, can you guys send over an iPad so I can start watching film and get a jump on next season?’ It’s something that happens constantly in our league. Teams load up iPads with tons of film and give them to guys so they can study.
“But in this case, after my surgery, it was this situation where … they just kept delaying things with that iPad. … After a few weeks, I kinda got the hint. Like, Hmmmm maybe the Packers don’t really want me around anymore.”
Alexander explained how the Packers approached him about taking a pay cut so he could remain with the team that drafted him. But there was a disconnect between himself and Packers management.
“I was making a lot of money. I just got hurt. I had no problem with taking less money and having to prove my value again,” Alexander wrote. “But as we went back and forth, it just seemed like we could never get fully aligned. So now, all of a sudden, I’m needing to think about maybe playing for another team — something I’d never really considered in the past.
“I’d always thought of myself as a Packer for life, had always wanted to end my career in Green Bay. I understand that the NFL is a business. I get that. But at the same time, just being honest here … it wasn’t easy for me coming to grips with that possibility. With the idea of potentially not being a Packer anymore.”
Jaire Alexander ‘Wasn’t Right Mentally’ With the Baltimore Ravens.
Alexander tried to move on with the Baltimore Ravens, at the suggestion of college teammate and quarterback Lamar Jackson. But being away from Green Bay was bad for him.
“I still wasn’t right physically, or in a good place mentally,” Alexander wrote.
Alexander broke down how he felt the Ravens’ Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills was the worst game of his NFL career and left him feeling like he could no longer play football.
“When I went out there and stunk it up, it was like my entire world got turned upside down,” Alexander wrote. “I pretty much lost faith in everything and everybody.”
Alexander played only two games, and was wracked with obtrusive thoughts after both his time with the Ravens and then when the Philadelphia Eagles traded for him. It reached a head in November when he decided his playing days were over.
“At like 3 or 4 a.m., I sat up in bed and texted everyone with the Eagles,” Alexander wrote. “It was like…. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m going to do this. I can’t keep playing like this.
“Then, a few hours later, I went down to the facility and told them all in person. I was done.”
Former Packers CB Jaire Alexander Opens Up on His Decision to Leave Football