Don’t discount the possibility
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that team sources are “frustrated” with Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander, who is firmly on the cap casualty bubble this offseason. Alexander, who has only been able to play at least a half-season in one of the last four years, is set to make $17.5 million for the 2025 season. On the other hand, the last two times that we’ve seen Alexander play at least a half-season, he was named an All-Pro.
So what are the Packers to do? Maybe there’s a price point on a potential restructure that makes sense for both sides. If not, Green Bay is highly likely to release Alexander, which would save them north of $6 million in immediate 2025 cap space, as long as they don’t designate him as a post-June 1 release.
Here’s the monkeywrench: What if Alexander goes to someone else in the division?
The Packers have benefited from an in-division move just a couple of times. Grabbing Julius Peppers and Adrian Amos from the Chicago Bears are a couple that stick out.
More often than not, though, it’s the other way around. We’ve seen Mike Daniel and Za’Darius Smith in Detroit Lions uniforms. Smith, Aaron Jones, Greg Jennings, Brett Favre, Darren Sharper, Ryan Longwell and Aaron Kampman were all Minnesota Vikings. At least the Chicago Bears have kept their poaching to tight ends like Jimmy Graham, Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis.
But what if Alexander signs a cheap, prove-it deal with the Vikings or Lions, teams that went a combined 0-4 against the Packers last season? That would be a gut punch.
The Vikings have a huge amount of cap space, but they also are set to lose the most snaps of any NFL team in the league this free-agency period. They also own just one pick in the first four rounds of the draft, so they’ll need to backfill their roster with free agents — either veterans or undrafted. Alexander makes sense there, as the Vikings’ number one corner, Byron Murphy Jr., is on pace to hit unrestricted free agency in a few weeks.
The Lions have a free-agent cornerback of their own in Carlton Davis. Davis ended the 2024 season on the injured reserve with a fractured jaw and is aging. Davis’ replacement was Amik Robertson, who broke his humerus in the playoffs and required surgery following the game.
So don’t discount the possibility of the Packers having to face Alexander twice a year if they let him walk. With that in mind, would your opinion on releasing Alexander for cap space change at all if he signed with a rival?
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