Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur revealed that Jaire Alexander likely won't play again this season, but what happens beyond that?
The Packers may need a quick rebuild at cornerback. Eric Stokes and Corey Ballentine are free agents in the offseason, while it's hard not to wonder if Alexander has already played his final snap for the team.
Alexander has missed 34 of the Packers' 68 games over the past four seasons, which is exactly half. He has only played in more than seven games in a season once in that span.
The question isn't only whether the Packers will move on from Alexander but how they can do it. He still has three years remaining on his contract.
What it would cost Packers to move on from Jaire Alexander in 2025
Packers cap expert Ken Ingalls provided an excellent breakdown of what it would cost for the team to cut or trade Alexander in the offseason.
There's no avoiding a big cap hit in 2025. Per Over The Cap, it's currently set at $25.4 million, which the Packers could reduce to $18.1 million if they moved on. Green Bay would get a modest saving of $7.3 million, but it's the future impact that must be factored in.
According to Ingalls, the Packers would create this cap space by moving on from Alexander before June 1, 2025:
Year | Cap Savings |
|---|---|
2025 | $7 million |
2026 | $27.4 million |
2027 | $2.4 million |
By releasing Alexander this upcoming offseason, the Packers would take a big dead cap hit initially but save future money. They must weigh that up when considering their options.
Andy Herman of the Pack-A-Day Podcast broke it down:
"Keeping Jaire in 2025 will cost Green Bay an additional $17.5 million overall. So the question you need to ask isn't, would you keep him for $7.27 million, the question you need to ask is would you sign him to a 1-year $17.5 million deal?" Herman writes.
That sums it up perfectly. If the Packers move on, it's not just about the immediate cap savings they would make in 2025 but also the impact it has on the cap beyond that. They would remove his 2026 cap hit of $27.4 million off the books, money that could go toward extending Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, or Zach Tom.
The downside is that the Packers would lose an All-Pro cornerback. That's tough. When healthy, Alexander is still an elite pass defender and would upgrade any defense. But the "when healthy" bit is key. He has battled multiple injuries and missed a lot of time.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is left with a difficult decision. We don't know which way he will go, but we do know how it could impact the salary cap.