At his best, Jaire Alexander was an All-Pro level cornerback for the Green Bay Packers. His lack of availability over the past two seasons ultimately ended his tenure with the franchise that drafted him. That didn't stop scores of Packers fans from criticizing GM Brian Gutekunst and his regime for letting Alexander walk out the door for nothing.
How the Packers handled Jaire Alexander’s contract standoff
Admittedly, finding a trade partner for the enigmatic defensive back would have been the best possible outcome for Green Bay. The franchise attempted to engineer that type of deal, but Alexander's refusal to accept any sort of pay cut eliminated any chances of securing a trade.
The Packers tried to convince Alexander to restructure his contract to extend his tenure with the team, but those efforts also proved to be fruitless. At various points in the offseason, there was optimism that the two parties could reach an accord, but Alexander felt he was still worth the $17 million his contract with Green Bay owed him. Gutekunst disagreed and elected to cut ties with Alexander to send him to free agency.
Undoubtedly, Alexander and his representatives thought he could cash in on the open market. The Packers might not have been willing to pay him $17 million, but they had strong interest in keeping him in the fold. Part of their motivation was buoyed by their need to maintain him as a starter at outside corner.
When Alexander hit the open market he immediately became one of the top defensive backs available. Scores of teams still had need of a top flight corner on the outside. That's clearly why he and his agent thought he would have a real opportunity to sign a new deal that might approach the salary he was due from the Packers.
Free agency was not that kind for Alexander though. He ended up signing a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens with a base salary of $4 million, with the opportunity to earn up to $2 million in additional incentives. The Ravens' front office wisely based those incentives on his snap count with the team.
What Jaire Alexander’s deal with the Ravens says about his future
If asked, Alexander would certainly tout landing with the Ravens as a free agent success. They are one of the best teams in the NFL and are widely regarded to have superior Super Bowl credentials to the Packers. The veteran defender can also point to his opportunity to get back out on the free agent market after one year as a potential win. The idea would be for him to prove he can stay healthy and try to sign a lucrative, multi-year deal with a new team before the start of the 2026 season.
There is some truth to that line of thinking but it's still fair to call Alexander's free agent gambit as a failure. Even if he reaches all of the incentives available to him he will only earn $6 million this season. It's highly probable that he could have earned significantly more with the Packers had he been willing to restructure his deal.
That total figure is well below the expected salary for a high-level starting cornerback on the outside. That is the role he is projected to play in Baltimore. It's expected that he will beat out T.J. Tampa to be the franchise's starter at the right cornerback position. Interestingly, Alexander is the team's second highest paid cornerback behind Marlon Humphrey. That figure is heavily influenced by the fact that both Tampa and Nate Wiggins are still on their rookie contracts.
The ultimate lesson here is that the Packers were right about Alexander's value. They understood just how much missing so much time over the past two seasons had impacted his reputation around the league. Their front office would not have been surprised to see a good team like the Ravens gamble on his services, but they also would not have been surprised to see him sign for such a modest salary.
The irony for Green Bay is that being right probably did not help boost their win total this season. They still might have been better off keeping Alexander on the roster at a figure far higher than what the Ravens gave him. Time will tell whether or not their cornerback depth is sufficient to overcome the loss of such a talented player.