Packers Cut Jaire Alexander: The Injured Cornerback Saga Ends (Or Does It?)

Alright, buckle up, friends, because the Green Bay Packers just pulled the plug on Jaire Alexander. That’s right, in a move that’s simultaneously eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and maddening, the Packers released the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback who spent seven seasons trying to be The Man in the secondary — before injuries basically sabotaged the whole thing.

Announced on a Monday (because nothing says wow, what a great way to boost the start of minicamp like dropping a roster bomb before practice), this move frees up a hefty $17 million in salary cap space. You gotta respect the efficiency, Packers. Clearing money like a pro, while also unveiling a brutal chapter end for one of their top defensive talents this decade.

Brian Gutekunst, the Packers’ GM, tried to serve the official eulogy, praising Jaire for his on-field wizardry and locker room presence. “He was one of the premier players at one of the game’s hardest spots,” he said. Sure, Gutekunst, but he was also one of the most fragile, given how often he was on the sidelines with various injuries.

Now, let’s flash back to the dream: the guy was the 18th overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Louisville, swiftly becoming a lockdown corner, snagging two Pro Bowls in 2020 and 2022, and making you think, “Yeah, this dude is gonna be a franchise legend.” But then the injury boogeyman showed up with a vengeance. Over the past four years, he’s suited up for barely half of the Packers’ regular season games — just 34 out of 68.

That’s not just unlucky. That’s terrifying durability. Alexander has suffered debilitating injuries to his quadriceps, groin, and knee — circus acts of pain no one wants a front-row seat to. But he kept coming back, somehow, like a stubborn aunt who showed up at Thanksgiving even though she’s clearly catching her death of cold.

Shockingly, the durability issues overshadowed the brilliance. He made it through only the bare minimum to keep the dream alive. For instance, in 2023, a knee injury shelved him for a Monday night game in Detroit. When he finally returned for a scant ten snaps against Chicago, fans collectively held their breath, praying it wasn’t a cliffhanger ending. Spoiler alert: it kind of was, as he was out for the remainder of the season.

But all is not lost for Green Bay’s cornerback room. With Eric Stokes (a 2021 first-round pick who also couldn’t dodge the injury curse) prancing off to the Las Vegas Raiders, fate seems to have handed the reins to a motley crew. Keisean Nixon, a two-time All-Pro kickoff returner who’s steadily grown in defensive value, is back. Carrington Valentine, a scrappy seventh-round pick from 2023, has racked up 19 starts over two seasons — not bad for a late-round flyer.

The Packers didn’t exactly wait around, signing former Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs in free agency and drafting Micah Robinson from Tulane late in the seventh round. Because hey, when life gives you an injury-riddled secondary, you assemble a patchwork quilt and hope it stops the bleeding.

It’s almost poetic that even after a gruesome shoulder injury limited him to four regular-season games in 2021, the Packers still ponied up an $84 million contract extension in 2022, including a $30 million signing bonus. That’s the kind of faith reserved for saints and lottery winners. And for a guy who turned in a career-high five interceptions in that same 2022 season, the gamble almost looked genius.

But no matter how many picks he snatched, the injuries kept piling up like bad life choices in a montage scene. Playing seven games a year like clockwork (except for one poorly timed suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team” — aka being the self-appointed captain and coin toss participant on Christmas Eve in his hometown — seriously, Jaire?) just isn’t cut out for the rigors of an NFL season.

Now, what does this mean for the Packers? Well, it’s a massive leap of faith into the unknown. The cornerback room is a patchwork mess bordering on a trusting-your-life-to-a-sock-puppet exercise. But the Packers are also getting creative, trying out Bo Melton at cornerback — a guy who, until recently, was strictly a receiver. Because if you’re going to throw your secondary to the wolves, might as well make it at least a two-way wolf.

Is this bold? Absolutely. Is it bonkers? Also absolutely. The 2025 season is shaping up to be one wild ride in Green Bay where you won’t just be afraid of opposing wide receivers; you’ll be wondering who exactly is going to be guarding them. It’s the gridiron equivalent of a garage band being asked to replace the lead guitarist of a world-famous rock group.

Meanwhile, the cap room cleared by releasing Alexander gives the Packers some breathing space. They can target some fresh talent and, maybe, just maybe, build a defense that doesn’t spend more time on the injury report than on the field. Or they end up with a creative collection of hopefuls that makes you question if you accidentally clicked on some fantasy league waiver wire page instead of watching actual NFL offseason moves.

In the end, the Jaire Alexander story is a cautionary tale. A brilliant talent shackled by bad luck and injuries, a reminder that in the NFL, sometimes your body just refuses to cooperate. Maybe he still has a few good plays left in him somewhere, but as far as the Packers are concerned, the chapter is closed. For good.

So, rest easy, Jaire. Thanks for the moments of brilliance. We’ll probably miss you. But mostly, we’ll be nervously refreshing the Packers’ depth chart, praying that Bo Melton’s two-way hustle pays off and that the future isn’t as shaky as the present looks.