Arguably the Green Bay Packers' biggest offseason question has been whether or not the team will end up parting ways with cornerback Jaire Alexander.
We are well into June and, finally, the Packers have made their decision -- and it comes as a bit of a shock, really.
Green Bay has opted to release Alexander, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
This decision comes after the most recent momentum swung in the direction of Alexander actually staying in Green Bay, so to be truthful, it is legitimately surprising on some fronts.
The Packers' decision to release Jaire Alexander is a move no one saw coming (at least, as of late)
One of the more recent updates we had gotten on the Alexander situation was courtesy of Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, who made it sound like he would wind up sticking around after all.
"... as it stands, I think Alexander is stuck, and may have to play ball with the Packers. He’s due to make $17.5 million. Green Bay wanted him to take a pay cut earlier in the season. He refused, and hoped they’d cut him so he could find a new home unencumbered," Breer wrote.
"Instead, the Packers sat on his rights. Now there’s a decision to make. So is a compromise coming? My guess would be that it could arrive in the form of a contract revision ... "
After reading the insider's well-informed take on the situation, Packer fans likely assumed he'd be sticking around. It made sense, after all.
This late into the offseason, it seemed like a logical decision for the two sides to come to an agreement on a contract revision that wound up being a win-win. However, the Packers ended up deciding against it, and surely there will be more details released in the days to come.
For now, Green Bay is going to have to move forward without Alexander and, now, the need to add cornerback depth as summer months kick off puts them in less-than-ideal circumstances.