Acme Packing Company
A door has been left open for Alexander to return to the team
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst got the opportunity to speak to the press on Monday morning at the NFL’s spring owners meetings. There, he was asked about cornerback Jaire Alexander, the former All-Pro whose future with the team currently hangs in limbo.
Earlier this offseason, it was reported that Alexander was not willing to take a pay cut to remain a Packer, which led to Green Bay never pushing that offer forward. The team has apparently been looking at trading Alexander since then, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Here’s what Gutekunst had to say about Alexander’s situation:
“John Thornton (of Roc Nation Sports) is his agent. We talk weekly about these things and working together on finding the best solution for everybody. We invested a lot in Jaire, and we want to make sure that if he’s not going to be on our football team, helping us win games, that we get something back for that investment.”
The way Gutekunst worded his statement, it sounds like Green Bay would like Alexander to return for the 2025 season. Otherwise, why mention “if he’s not going to be on our football team, helping us win games”? Alexander may want off the Packers’ roster rather than the other way around. That’s significant, considering that the entire Alexander saga has been framed around his cap hits.
Alexander is due $16.15 million in salary for the upcoming season and currently carries a $24.99 million cap hit on Green Bay’s cap sheet. The Packers would have to eat $18.12 million in dead cap to move on from Alexander, either by way of a trade or release, if he’s moved before June 1st.
Alexander can earn $700,000 in 2025 via a workout bonus. So, we’ll just have to wait and see if he shows up when the first phase of organized team activities begin a week or so ahead of the draft. That might be the next time we get a temperature check on the situation.
The former All-Pro signed a four-year, $84 million extension with the team back in 2022. He still has two years remaining on that deal. Despite injuries over the year, Alexander has made an All-Pro list the last two times he’s played more than a half-season for the Packers. He was also their first-round selection in the 2018 draft.
Gutekunst also told the press that former left guard Elgton Jenkins will be sliding into center in 2025, following the signing of Aaron Banks in free agency, and that the team’s pass rush doesn’t need to add any bodies via the draft.
