Jaire Alexander: The X-Factor in the Packers’ Matchup with the Seahawks?

Brian Gutekunst charted a brave path with his first-ever pick as the Green Bay Packers’ general manager.

Back in April, 2018, Gutekunst strayed from the Ron Wolf/Ted Thompson philosophy and took undersized cornerback Jaire Alexander.

Alexander stood just 5-foot-10, two inches shorter than the minimum measurement Wolf established after he was burned by taking Terrell Buckley in 1992. Alexander also weighed just 196 pounds.

“Is he as tall as some others? No, he’s not,” Packers director of college scouting Jon-Eric Sullivan said after Green Bay made Alexander the 18^th overall pick in the draft. “But I think when you watch the tape, he doesn’t play like a little guy.”

For three years, that was certainly true.

These days, though, Alexander simply doesn’t play at all.

And when the 2024 season ends, it’s time for Gutekunst to cut his losses and move on from his first draft pick.

Alexander has played just 10 snaps since Oct. 27 due to a knee injury. He’ll miss his fourth straight game Sunday when the Packers travel to Seattle.

Since the start of the 2021 season, Alexander has been inactive for 31 of Green Bay’s 65 regular season games — a whopping 47.7%. There have been four other games in that time that Alexander couldn’t finish due to a bevy of injuries.

It appeared Alexander was on track to play against the Seahawks when he practiced Wednesday and Thursday. By now, though, we should know Alexander is as reliable as 1990s internet.

“Just based on what I saw over the last couple days, I didn’t feel like he’s ready to play,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Friday after declaring Alexander out. “There’s certain requirements to get out there and go play. Certain speeds and whatnot, when you’re not hitting them, you’re not ready to play.”

It’s easy to see why the Packers have been patient with Alexander.

Nostalgia is a powerful drug, and the memory of the player Alexander once was can be enticing.

In 2018, Alexander was named to the NFL’s all-rookie team. In 2019, Alexander tied for fourth in the league with 17 passes defensed and had two interceptions.

And as recently as 2020, Pro Football Focus ranked Alexander as the No. 1 cornerback in football. He also intercepted Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady twice in the NFC Championship Game that year.

Since then, though, it’s been one injury after another for one of the NFL’s most bold and bombastic players.

Alexander played just four games in 2021 due a shoulder injury.

In 2023, he missed three games with a back injury, six more with a shoulder injury, and a 10^th contest after he was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.

This season, Alexander has been limited to seven games due to quadricep, groin and knee injuries. And when he last took the field on Nov. 17, Alexander lasted just 10 snaps before yelling, ‘No mas.’

NFL players don’t suddenly begin getting healthier in the second half of their careers. It’s just the opposite.

Alexander turns 28 in February —not old, but not young either for a little man in a game of giants. His injury history is starting to resemble David Bakhtiari’s. And he’s been a problem in the locker room.

That trifecta is equivalent of Dean Wormer telling Flounder: “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”

Making matters worse is Alexander’s $21 million salary makes him the NFL’s third-highest paid cornerback. He’s Green Bay’s second-highest paid player and gobbles up 9.4% of the salary cap.

There’s nothing the Packers can do with their Alexander problem in 2024. They’re stuck with him, so they’ll cross their fingers and hope he can return at some point.

Green Bay can make a clean break from Alexander this offseason, though. And it would border on irresponsible for the Packers to count on him in 2025 — and beyond.

Green Bay would save $6.8 million against the cap this offseason by releasing Alexander. The Packers should also be flush with salary cap room to sign one of the top corners on the market.

Most projections have the 2025 salary cap in the range of $270 million. According to Spotrac.com, Green Bay’s total cap allocations in 2025 are approximately $226.2 million, and that includes Alexander’s contract. The Packers also have $16.3 million of available cap space this year they can carry into 2025.

If you throw in the money Green Bay would save by dumping Alexander, they’d be roughly $67 million under next year’s cap. That could allow the Packers to chase corners like D.J. Reed of the New York Jets, San Francisco’s Charvarius Ward or Detroit’s Carlton Davis in free agency.

Green Bay will almost certainly take a cornerback in the first- or second round of April’s draft, as well. So Gutekunst could give his coaches far more reliable options at cornerback than they currently have with Alexander.

“I’m feeling better. Feeling better,” Alexander said this week before being declared out again. “It’s a process. It is a process.”

Right now, though, the process isn’t working. It hasn’t worked in nearly four years.

And when the offseason arrives, Green Bay needs to end the Alexander-era.