Jaire Alexander Released by Packers, Will Be A Free Agent amid Contract, Trade Rumors

The Green Bay Packers have released veteran cornerback Jaire Alexander the team announced Monday.

"In his seven seasons with the Packers, Jaire established himself as one of the premier players in the NFL at one of the game's most challenging positions," general manager Brian Gutekunst said in a statement. "His contributions to our organization were felt on the field, in the locker room and in our community, and he will be missed. We appreciate all he gave and we wish him all the best moving forward."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport first reported the news.

Rapoport followed up to report the Packers and Alexander agreed to see what trade avenues they might have and considered restructuring his contract. Albert Breer of The MMQB reported in April the two-time Pro Bowler preferred an outright release so he'd have more freedom in choosing his next team.

Packers president Mark Murphy spoke about Alexander during a golf outing after the report, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky:

"First of all, he's been a great player for us," Murphy told WBAY-TV, per Demovsky. "Obviously, an elite talent and, you know, unfortunately just injured a lot. Unfortunately that's a big part of our game. The reality is for the last four years for Jaire, it's about half of the games he's been able to play," Murphy added. "So we kind of have been used to it."

Cutting Alexander is a financially driven move for Green Bay. He had a $16.2 million base salary and a $24.6 million salary-cap hit for 2025. As a post-June 1 release, the team will save $17.1 million for this year and absorb dead money hits of $7.5 million in 2025 and $9.5 million in 2026.

In addressing the situation, Rapoport said Alexander's salary was a big hurdle for Green Bay in trade negotiations. Once the 2025 NFL draft passed, the two sides discussed a restructure that would have required the experienced defensive back to take a pay cut.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Silverstein, they were unable to find any middle ground:

Alexander signed his $84 million extension in May 2022 and immediately justified his raise by finishing that year with 56 tackles, five interceptions and 14 pass breakups.

It has been a much different story for the 28-year-old since then. He was limited to seven appearances thanks to a combination of injuries and a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. Then a PCL tear prematurely ended last season for him.

While Packers couldn't find a worthwhile trade, Alexander's market is likely to heat up now he's a free agent. He'll presumably be willing to take a short-term deal with a reasonable salary in the hope of parlaying his 2025 performance into a bigger payday next spring.