Despite all of the injury concerns and general worries about how effective he could be at this stage of his career, former Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander did not have to wait very long to find a contender who needed one more big playmaker in their secondary.
Alexander agreed to sign with the Baltimore Ravens, who continue to reinforce a roster that might be among the best in the entire NFL, after a plea from Lamar Jackson. The secondary was good enough to cause playoff teams some major strife without Alexander, and they could level up now that he is in town.
The Packers should be able to put together a spirited enough defensive performance without their former first-round pick in the mix, but if he is able to play all 17 games with the Ravens, Brian Gutekunst will likely be kicking himself and letting a string of expletives fly in his office.
Packers could regret letting Jaire Alexander leave after Ravens signing
Alexander's health is always going to be the biggest question mark related to him as a player, as he has played more than seven games just once in four years. Any team that signed him needed to have an appropriate backup plan, and the Ravens have more than enough depth in that area.
The Ravens have a solid cornerback tandem of Marlon Humphrey and emerging star Nate Wiggins, all while All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton backs them up. Alexander should be able to slot right into a starting role that was left vacant by volatile veteran Brandon Stephens.
The Ravens also have veteran Chidobe Awuzie and 2024 draft pick TJ Tampa behind Alexander to go with rookies Bilhal Kone and Robert Longerbeam. Alexander could be the final puzzle piece in a secondary that helps the Ravens make a deep playoff run, all while the Packers find themselves stonewalled.
There's a very good chance that Baltimore will end up with some hardware this season, all while Alexander's old team fails to break through. If that happens, the Packers would rightly be maligned up-and-down for being unable to find a middle ground with a true game-changer at the cornerback position.