The Green Bay Packers’ ongoing Jaire Alexander dilemma has yet to reach a resolution.
All signs indicate a divorce between the team and its former top cornerback. Brian Gutekunst hasn’t hidden that when speaking to reporters throughout the offseason.
There’s another angle to this, though. With the situation dragging along, the Packers should just make amends and bring Alexander back for 2025.
If not for the constant injuries, there wouldn’t be a question about bringing Alexander back. When he’s on the field, he’s still performing at the level of a top-tier corner. The problem remains the injuries, and it hasn’t just been a little missed time here and there.
Since 2021, Alexander has missed 34 of a possible 68 regular-season games. The front office has apparently reached a boiling point, with Gutekunst echoing the frustration from both sides in January.
I know it’s been really, really frustrating, not only for him as a player but for us as a club, when you have a player who has done what he’s done for us in the past, and then not being able to get him on the field consistently. That’s tough on the player, tough on the organization. We’re at the beginning stages of gathering information, as a whole, before we start looking at next year.
Some believe it’s a foregone conclusion that Green Bay sends Alexander packing. The Packers have undoubtedly shopped Alexander around but haven’t received an offer to their liking.
In the NFL world, though, nothing should come as a surprise. Right now, Green Bay’s bringing back Alexander makes more sense than parting ways with him.
The Packers added Nate Hobbs at corner this offseason and expect him to play on the outside compared to in the slot, where he thrived in Vegas.
As of right now, Keisean Nixon is your CB1. He’s a pit bull. He’s a gamer. However, is he a No. 1 cornerback in a division with wide receivers like Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and D.J. Moore?
That would be an extraordinary leap for Nixon.
Keep in mind that money isn’t a factor here. Gutekunst said as much in January when he mentioned that the Packers could certainly bring back Alexander from a financial standpoint.
We certainly can (keep Alexander)… We could. When he’s healthy and ready to play, he’s a pretty good player.
Gutekunst has also repeatedly denied that a disconnect exists between the two sides.
Green Bay has some pressing needs entering the draft at wide receiver, edge rusher, and cornerback. Just hoping several players on your current roster significantly improve isn’t a viable strategy. Bringing back Alexander, even with the injury risk, would put Green Bay in a vastly better spot and lower the priority of taking a corner high in the draft later this month.
Egos can always get in the way, but in theory, they shouldn’t be too large to stand in the way of pursuing a title. If both sides have to suck it up and apologize and shake hands, so be it. Bringing Alexander back at this point still makes more sense than letting him go elsewhere.
Green Bay is selecting at No. 23 in the first round. The team could reasonably go in an array of different directions. Knowing the Packers, even with more prominent needs at wide receiver, edge rusher, and corner, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them select an offensive lineman or a defensive tackle. Whichever direction they go, they only have one first-round pick. That’s why bringing Alexander back would make cornerback a secondary need instead of a primary one — at least for one more season.
Will there be drama attached to bringing back Alexander? Maybe.
Will there be injury concern? Absolutely.
The product you get on the field still holds up, though. Think about it from this perspective: Would you feel better about the Packers at corner with Alexander, Nixon, and Hobbs as the three top dogs in the room? Or with Nixon, Hobbs, and Carrington Valentine, potentially with a rookie or two sprinkled in?
There’s risk in bringing back Alexander, but there’s just as much risk in anointing Nixon as the CB1 and hoping to strike gold in the draft.
Gutekunst said back in January that it was time for the Packers to start competing for championships. They have an elevated chance of doing so in 2025 with Alexander on the team, certainly more so than with him playing somewhere else and only collecting a middle-of-the-draft selection for him.
