Jaire Alexander: The Top 8 Landing Spots
Former Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander will seek a new team this week, cut loose by his employer after failing to negotiate a trade over the last month.
The Packers have released two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander. Here’s where he might land.
The market will be hot for Alexander, as Pro Bowl-caliber cornerbacks at the age of 28 rarely hit free agency in the summer.
Alexander will find a new team before too long, so consider these clubs the top destinations for his services. They’re ranked from least probable to most (No. 1 = top Alexander landing spot).
Note: The New Orleans Saints would’ve been included because of Alexander’s collegiate ties to coach Peter Sirmon, now a Saints defensive coach, but New Orleans may not have the necessary cap space.
8. Philadelphia Eagles
Of course, the Eagles don’t need cornerbacks — or anything, really, for their fantastic roster — but adding Alexander “just because” feels like a Howie Rosemanian quality.
Current Eagles defensive back coach Christian Parker served as Alexander’s defensive quality control coach in Green Bay for two seasons in 2019 and 2020.
Bleacher Report‘s Gary Davenport remarked on the possibility of Alexander to the Eagles this week: “The rich get richer. The Philadelphia Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions. They also led the NFL in pass defense a year ago, surrendering just 174.2 yards per game through the air in 2024. However, that defense lost some veterans in the offseason when Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers departed.”
“It’s a classic Howie Roseman move — wait for a veteran in an area of need to be released, and then swoop him and sign him to a relatively reasonable short-term deal. Playing for the defending champs should have some allure for Alexander, as well.”
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
Call this one “the Aaron Rodgers thing.”
Often, when Rodgers gets his way, he urges his bosses to onboard his former teammates, almost at a LeBron James level of recruitment. Alexander is a better cornerback than Beanie Bishop Jr. and would represent insurance for elder statesman Darius Slay, whom he could slay at training camp.
6. Miami Dolphins
Joe Barry is the Dolphins’ linebackers coach, and Joe Barry defensively coordinated Alexander in Green from 2021 to 2023. He should be able to urge Chris Grier to explore Alexander’s free agency.
Too, Miami will soon trade cornerback Jalen Ramsey, so the swap here would essentially be Alexander for Ramsey.
5. Las Vegas Raiders
Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham — a man who interviewed for the Vikings’ head coach job in 2022 — crossed paths with Alexander in Green Bay six years ago, and the Raiders could use cornerback beef.
Ironically, Alexander could fairly easily take Eric Stokes’ job, his former teammate from the Packers days.
PFF’s Trevor Sikkema noted on Alexander’s chances of becoming a Raider: “Now that Pete Carroll is the head coach in Las Vegas, don’t count the Raiders out of the Alexander sweepstakes. Carroll knows how to build an elite secondary, as evidenced by the Legion of Boom during his time in Seattle. He is also known as a player’s coach and someone who can handle big-personality players. Despite playing in a tough division, we know the Raiders are in on competing now since they traded for quarterback Geno Smith.”
“Their secondary could use some help, too, after Jakorian Bennett was the 2024 cornerback group’s highest-graded player in coverage at just 61.0. The team’s 30.4 PFF coverage grade was also by far the worst mark in the NFL in 2024. Las Vegas brought in Eric Stokes in free agency and drafted Darien Porter, but Alexander would be an immediate, proven starter for the Raiders.”
4. Washington Commanders
Joe Whitt Jr. stopped in Green Bay at the start of the Alexander era as the defensive passing game coordinator, and now he works for the Commanders as the primary defensive coordinator.
Alexander would be an upgrade over Washington cornerback Jonathan Jones, the former New England Patriot.
Jason Simmons, an ex-Packers coach, is also the Commanders’ defensive passing game coordinator.
3. Minnesota Vikings
Mike Pettine defensively coordinated the Packers for three seasons while Alexander got his prestigious career off the ground. He’s the Vikings’ assistant head coach at the moment.
The Vikings also have no problems signing notable former Packers players — Brett Favre, Ryan Longwell, Aaron Jones, Greg Jennings, and Za’Darius Smith have stories.
Alexander would join Byron Murphy Jr. as the Vikings’ two starting cornerbacks.
2. Carolina Panthers
Alexander went to high school about 20 minutes from the Panthers’ stadium. This is the hometown angle, which often can’t be ignored.
Mike Jackson would lose his starting CB job to Alexander in this example.
1. Atlanta Falcons
Jerry Gray, now on the Falcons’ coaching staff, worked in Green Bay for three seasons after leaving the Vikings and coached Alexander along the way.
One of the Falcons’ starting cornerbacks is Mike Hughes — a former Vikings 1st-Round pick — which, by default, means the Falcons need cornerback help.
Alexander would fit wonderfully alongside Gray in Atlanta, as Gray is the Falcons’ assistant head coach. Atlanta needs all the corner help it can find, making it the top theoretical landing spot in the Alexander sweepstakes.
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