Eagles Reportedly Got Jaire Alexander Salary Cap Credit After Controversial Ravens Trade

Jaire Alexander never played a game for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025 after they traded a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for the cornerback and a 2027 seventh-round pick, and the NFC East team was reportedly compensated as a result.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday "the Eagles received an $889,000 salary-cap credit and the corresponding cash itself, which Alexander paid back to the Eagles even though he never played a game for the franchise."

Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice noted that prior to this development the Alexander trade was not listed on the Eagles' website even though it was on the NFL's and the Ravens' sites.

While the team declined to comment on that discrepancy, Kempski suggested "I imagine that if there weren't some kind of contention about the trade, the Eagles would've just said that the trade was final."

Philadelphia ultimately placed Alexander, who underwent surgery on his knee and missed practice time going into the 2025 season, on the reserve/retired list less than two weeks after the trade.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported at the time the cornerback was "contemplating retirement but for now is stepping away to think through his next steps."

There was a time when Alexander was considered one of the best cornerbacks in the league after the Green Bay Packers selected him in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. He was a two-time Pro Bowler with Green Bay and made the All-Pro Second Team in 2020 and again in 2022.

The Packers consistently asked him to guard the opponent's best receiver, and he tallied 56 tackles, 14 passes defended and five interceptions during that 2022 campaign.

However, injuries became an issue as he was limited to seven games in 2023, seven games in 2024 and two games in 2025. Baltimore signed him ahead of the 2025 campaign after the Packers released him, but he played just those two contests for the AFC North club before it traded him to Philadelphia.

This comes after the Ravens backed out of their headline trade for Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby this offseason.