The Green Bay Packers had spent the entire offseason trying to figure out what to do with star cornerback Jaire Alexander. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer predicted that Alexander might return on a reduced contract.
“The question, to me, comes down to money,” Breer wrote. “He’s due $17.5 million this year. And, because of his recent injury history, that’s shown to be a bit rich for interested teams. Alexander, meanwhile, would rather be cut so he can pick his destination... I would think, at this point, the most likely scenario is that he’s back on a reduced contract.”
That scenario seemed likely for a time, especially since Alexander, despite holding out, remained in daily contact with the team.
“Alexander has not reported to the Packers’ voluntary workouts, which would raise red flags over his status with the team. While speculation has run wild, passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley sang a different tune, telling ESPN’s Rob Demovsky that he’s been in contact with Alexander every day while skipping the offseason workouts,” wrote DailyLand Express’ Chris Schad.
Ultimately, the Packers made the surprising decision to cut Alexander. One team in need of a cornerback is the Los Angeles Rams, but head coach Sean McVay appeared to shut down any speculation of interest in Alexander.
“There are so many layers to the Jalen conversation. Obviously, with (CB) Jaire (Alexander), a lot of respect for him as a player, haven’t talked about those types of things. Our main focus is… This will really represent our last OTA day so we've kind of just been focused on our group. (General Manager) Les (Snead) and I have had some dialogue and discussions as it relates to the Jalen thing, but there's really no news to report on. And with Jaire, nothing but respect for the player but I don't know if that's a direction that we would go,” McVay said.
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Several teams could use a veteran cornerback, but based on McVay’s comments, it seems the Rams are more interested in a reunion with Jalen Ramsey than in bringing in Alexander.