To each his own. When it came to the Green Bay Packers deciding to cut ties with former Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander, it was under the belief they could get similar production internally at a fraction of the cost. In short, Alexander was no longer a reliable player in the eyes of their general manager Brian Gutekunst. He has appeared in just 34 of the Packers' last 68 regular-season games.
To date, Alexander has played in 78 of a possible 116 combined games in his seven-year NFL career with the Packers out of Louisville. The growing concern is Alexander has only appeared in 10 or more games once in the last four seasons. Coincidentally, that came in a contract year for him in 2022. Alexander played in 16 games that season, earning the second Pro Bowl nod of his career back then.
As far as what the Packers want to do, Gutekunst seems to be more than comfortable with the guys in the cornerback room without Alexander. From Javon Bullard, to Nate Hobbs, to Keisean Nixon, all three are expected to man starting roles for this team in the extended defensive backfield in the wake of Alexander's release. Look for this unit to play together to help overcome losing this star playmaker.
From what Gutekunst told ESPN's Rob Demovsky, it seems like he could no longer rely on Alexander.
"We've done that the past few years and it hasn't really worked out for us."
When asked why he wasn’t willing to take the risk that Jaire Alexander could stay healthy, Gutekunst said: “We’ve done that the past few years and it hasn’t really worked out for us.”
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) June 10, 2025
Alexander is free to sign anywhere, but players who often get injured will keep on getting injured.
Will cutting Jaire Alexander come back to haunt the Green Bay Packers?
I have no problem whatsoever with Gutekunst having to make a tough business decision by moving on an increasingly unreliable player in Alexander. That is not to say he will not find success somewhere else. He probably will. If you ever rooted for the guy, you are probably wishing him nothing but the best. Professional sports is a business, as every team needs to act in its own best interests.
As far as where Alexander could end up, I think teams like the Buffalo Bills, the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers could make some sense. I would not be the least bit surprised to see him go to a team that believes it can contend for a Super Bowl this year, preferably one who has not reached the summit yet. As for Green Bay, the Packers need to go full-steam ahead without Alexander around.
Given that this will be year two of Jeff Hafley calling shots on the defense, I would expect his side of the ball to be even better, especially because he has a better sense of the personnel he is working with. Ideally, yes, you would want a star player like Alexander around to be a difference-maker. However, he has not been around for the better part of four years, so I understand fully moving on.
Gutekunst having lost all faith in Alexander's abilities to stay healthy resulted in this tough decision.