If the Green Bay Packers want to take the next step toward serious Super Bowl contention in 2025, they’ll need to rebuild their defense to some extent this offseason.
Perhaps the two most pressing needs are in the secondary and the position of edge rusher. Green Bay still employs two-time All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander, but several sources believe the Packers will cut ways with him after the 2017 NFL draft, either through a trade or an outright release. “The Packers may add an early-round cornerback, raising the possibility of a trade after the draft. They might go for Jahdae Barron, Maxwell Hairston, or Trey Amos late in the first round. Barron would be an excellent successor to Alexander due to his inside-outside ability,” Moe Moton of Bleacher Report stated on Thursday, April 17.
“Regardless, the Packers’ patience on the trade front may end in a post-draft transaction, with Alexander’s replacement ready to begin his rookie season. The frequently injured cornerback, who has missed 20 games in the last two seasons, will most likely play somewhere in 2025.
Jaire Alexander’s salary and injury issues complicate the Packers’ trade scenarios.
Moton reported that Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has received calls about potential trades for Alexander, and Gutekunst stated earlier this offseason that he would like to resolve the cornerback’s status before the draft.
However, the draft will begin in Green Bay on Thursday, April 24, giving Gutekunst only six days to complete a deal if he intends to reach the unofficial/preferred deadline.
Alexander is only 28 years old and is one of the league’s best cover cornerbacks when healthy. However, the aforementioned 10-game absences due to injury in each of the last two seasons will likely give suitors pause and influence what they are willing to offer the Packers in trade.
Aside from that, Alexander still has two years left on his four-year contract worth $84 million, which was historically high when he signed it in May 2022. That deal’s annual average compensation of $21 million still ranks eighth in the NFL for cornerbacks.
Alexander’s base wages of $16.15 and $18.15 million in each of the next two years may make selling him difficult, especially given his struggle to stay on the field over the previous two seasons.
Green Bay has already parted ways with former first-round cornerback Eric Stokes this offseason.
Alexander was a first-round draft pick in 2018, as was his former colleague Eric Stokes in 2021.
Stokes had a good start to his career, but injuries halted his progress. The Packers released Stokes this summer, and he is now with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Moving on from Alexander appears to position the Packers to search for a cornerback with the No. 23 overall choice in the first round next week. Another possibility for Green Bay is to trade back, especially with a team trying to add a quarterback late in the first round on Thursday, and accumulate several picks in order to take repeated swings at acquiring a starting-caliber defensive back in his rookie season.
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