Getty The Packers appear to have no interest in a Jaire Alexander trade.
Certainly, all indications from the Packers in recent weeks have been that they have no interest in a Jaire Alexander trade, despite a down year for the star cornerback that featured a bizarre suspension for jumping into the coin toss in Week 17 of the regular season. There’s been plenty of speculation that the team would put Alexander on the market, but it appeared that general manager Brian Gutekunst put that to bed in his postseason press conference.
Still, at SI.com, they’re suggesting, in an article titled, “One Move Every Team Should Make This Offseason,” that the Packers go ahead and trade away one of the highest paid defensive backs in the league—Alexander is entering the second year of a four-year, $84 million contract extension he signed in 2022.
“Alexander is coming off a down season in which he only played seven games due to injury,” analyst Gilberto Manzano wrote. “His antics, like crashing a coin toss, have grown tiring in Green Bay, especially with him no longer being a premier cornerback. All signs point to the Packers shopping Alexander, with them being $2.8 million over the salary cap. Alexander has a $23.9 million cap hit number in 2024.”
Jaire Alexander Had a Rough 2023
There is no question that Alexander did not quite live up to the contract, not last year at least. He was very good in 2022 but injuries limited him last season to seven games, and he had zero interceptions.
According to Pro Football Focus, Alexander allowed 29 receptions on 40 targets, a percentage of 72.5%, by far the worst of his career. He missed six tackles for a miss percentage of 13.6%, one of the worst of his career.
Alexander allowed a passer rating of 110.0, not just the worst of his career but also well above his career rating allowed, which is 82.2.
So there are other reasons to trade away Alexander besides the suspension. His performance was lacking last year when he was on the field, and it was all made worse by the fact that he was not healthy. Alexander missed 13 games in 2021 because of a shoulder injury, and said he was playing through pain in 2023 with back and shoulder injuries.
No Signs of a Packers Trade
But let’s remember what Gutekunst had to say about Alexander last month after the Packers were eliminated from the playoffs. Asked directly if the Packers would trade Alexander, Gutekunst gave a blunt, “No.”
He elaborated.
“Those things are difficult and those are tough,” Gutekunst said, via Mike Spofford of the team website. “But at the end of the day, it allowed us all to reset. I’m really proud of the way Jaire responded to that. I really think that’s going to help us moving forward.”
Still, Mendoza says dumping Alexander’s contract for a draft pick would be beneficial to the Packers, who are in a tight situation financially—they’re just about at the salary cap but can create room by waiving players like David Bakhtiari and De’Vondre Campbell.
It’s widely predicted that the Packers will choose a cornerback in the first round of the draft.
“Perhaps the Packers can trade him for a Day 3 draft pick to get rid of his hefty contract, which doesn’t expire until 2027,” SI wrote. “Green Bay could, however, net a higher draft pick because Alexander is still a quality player when healthy and talented cornerbacks are tough to find. Trading Alexander would leave the Packers thin in the secondary, but they made it work last season while Alexander was sidelined.”