Packers' Jaire Alexander Reportedly Drawing Trade Interest, No Deal Imminent

The Green Bay Packers have received interest in a potential trade for cornerback Jaire Alexander, but no deal is "imminent," per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

According to Silverstein, the Packers "appeared close" to finalizing a deal near the March 12 start of free agency, "but the combination of the trade compensation and Alexander’s unwillingness to cut his salary to fit the other team’s salary cap have made it difficult to close a deal."

Alexander is currently signed for two more seasons with annual cap hits of more than $24 million, per Over the Cap. The Packers could save almost $10 million in cap space by designating him as a post-June 1 cut.

That includes $7.5 million in dead money offset by $17.1 million in cap savings. The team would garner the same savings through a trade.

Silverstein noted that teams interested in Alexander "appear willing" to wait to see if the Packers cut him first, making it difficult for Green Bay to hold leverage in a potential trade.

Given his high cap number, Silverstein expects that Alexander would need to renegotiate his current deal before another team would be willing to take it on in a trade.

Alexander has missed the majority of three of the last four seasons due to injury, most recently spending 10 games of the Packers' 2024 campaign sidelined due to knee issues.

He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in January to address the injury, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters at the end of March that "it could be a possibility" Alexander would play again for Green Bay and that he hoped to receive an answer before the 2025 NFL draft begins on April 24.

Gutekunst added at the time that he was in "weekly" talks with Alexander and his agent.

Hired as the Packers' general manager in 2018, one of Gutekunst's first moves was to select Alexander with the No. 18 pick that spring.

“We invested a lot in Jaire and want to make sure, if he’s not gonna be on our football team helping us win games, that we get something back for that investment,” Gutekunst said in March, per The Athletic's Matt Schneidman.

The 2025 NFL draft could change which teams are interested in pursuing Alexander. If a team in need of cornerback depth is unable to land on a top prospect, they could be more willing to pay up for Alexander despite his injury history and cap hit.