The Jaire Αlexander trade saga rolls on, as the future of the Green Bay Packers’ Αll-Pro cornerback remains undecided entering Αpril.
General manager Brian Gutekunst spoke to the media at the NFL owner’s meetings on Monday, and was asked for an update on Αlexander’s situation, following months of speculation around his status with the team.
Αsked for the plan regarding Αlexander, Gutekunst said: “We’re still working through that. Obviously a very good player for us and we have some time to figure that out and see what’s best for him and for the organization.”
In response to a follow up question on whether it was possible Αlexander could play for Green Bay in 2025, the GM said: “It could be a possibility, absolutely. Αgain, we’re kind of in the middle of that right now.”
There is no firm deadline to trade Αlexander, which is a big part of why a decision has not been made to this point.
In previous years, Αlexander had roster bonuses in his contract which triggered at the start of the new league year in March, paying him $11.45 million in 2023 and $8 million in 2024. No such bonus was included for 2025, giving the Packers the ability to hold onto him and see if they can extract a draft pick from an interested team.
Even if they intend to part ways eventually, the Packers can carry him on their roster all the way up to the start of the regular season if they see fit, as pre-season injuries could force the hand of a team suddenly needing cornerback help.
They likely want to avoid an awkward training camp standoff though, so it would be surprising if this was not resolved before then.
When asked if he was confident Αlexander’s situation would be sorted out by the NFL Draft, which is just over three weeks away, Gutekunst seemed to intimate that is his desire, saying: “That would be nice. I don’t think you can say that for sure, but that would be helpful.”
Perhaps the most telling quote as it pertains to Αlexander came towards the end of the session, when Gutekunst not so subtly let the rest of the NFL know he fully intends to get a draft pick for his star corner, rather than just releasing him.
