The go-to response is “the defense played pretty well without him.” Now we’re waiting to see where he signs and for how much.

I have made comments that the best thing for the Packers to do if they could not trade JA was to keep him. I still do not like the idea of releasing him but I realize this might be the best for the team.

As I think about this situation the more I have come to believe JA is not a team player. He thinks of JA only. I believe he was well enough to play last year but chose not to and used his injury to stay off the field. He did this because he saw a team that would not go deep into the playoffs. He did not want to risk injuring himself more. He also does not like to play zone which the Packers are moving to. He likes to be in the limelight and cover the best WR.

I do not blame him for refusing to take a pay cut. He had a contract. If the Packers wanted to protect themselves they could have structured to contract that if he does not play a certain amount of games he would have to restructure or something like that.

In the end I wish JA was still on the team with an attitude to do whatever it took to make the Packers a winning team. As I look at the Packers know I see a problem in the secondary and that it could be their weak spot.

I think the author is grossly overrating the value of Alexander to the Packers when he says the other players are the losers. The Packers had the number six scoring defense in the league last year and that was almost entirely without Alexander on the field. How much could a healthy Alexander improve on that? And how likely was it that Alexander would stay healthy enough to be able to help the defense? I think the other players will be just fine without Alexander.

And Alexander's release gives the Packers some cap room to accommodate Jenkins' concerns and perhaps sign Tom or some other young player to their second contract.

"If Alexander really wanted to come back to Green Bay, he takes a contract restructure that gives him some incentives for being on the field. The problem is, I don’t think he really wanted to come back. He earned a one-game suspension in 2023 for going into the coin toss uninvited and nearly screwed up the winning flip decision."

THIS is what I think is really happening. I don't think he really wanted to be in Green Bay for the 2025 season. Personally I think he's one of the more selfish players the Packers have had in YEARS. Yes, the Packers are/were better with Alexander on the field, but after missing at least 10 games the last two seasons, those times are to far and few in-between.

That whole coin toss thing in Carolina was pure selfishness. Not to mention you HAVE to wonder how smart the guy is when you almost screwed up the coin toss. That whole thing never sat right with me. I wish him well but good riddance.

One last thing, Alexander was NEVER the same player after tearing up his shoulder when he tackled Najee Harris of Pittsburgh. He was a DOG coming up in run support before that injury. Afterwards? Not so much.

Management won.
And so did the packer fans.
Over-paid, seldom used, said it all.
Temper tantrums aside.
The guy is 28. Needs motivation.
And it was no wonder they couldn't trade him.

No excuses.
Thats what Alexander didn't understand.
Instead of Sucking it up.
He decided to push the blame elsewhere.

This article describes JA as he was 3 years ago, not what he is now. He shut Jefferson down once a few years back and fans are living off that memory.

Jaire REALLY struggled against tall receivers the past three years or so. He was great against average and short guys, but an accurate QB throwing to a tall WR was his bane.

When I look at the CBs the Packers have picked up in the last year, they are NOT targeting great man coverage types; they are adding heady, zone guys. A few years ago, the bottom of the CB room was all high-RAS guys, now they are all VERY average athletes (5 range) who do well in zone coverage. That's a BIG change.

"Maybe Keisean Nixon has taken a step, even though he looked dazed and confused at times last year."

Nice insult Cory. Nixon, since playing significant CB snaps for the Packers in the slot (in '23) and boundary last year has taken significant steps up, the most steps of any Packer on Defense over the last 2 years.

He was awarded a lucrative contract (looking like steal now) and responded last season with the most tackles, solos, assists of his career. He greatly improved his miss tackles and got ball carriers on the ground. He is now one of the best tacklers on the team, responding to Hafley's tackling emphasis. He had 3 sacks and 7 passes defensed also career highs. And he was AVAILABLE for duty on D and STs all 17 games and the playoffs.

Nixon has taken a "maybe" step? "Dazed and confused"? Maybe watch him play football games.

And so on and so on, and scooby dooby dooby.

Would have loved to have JA back this season, but ONLY if he was all in. Management had every right to ask for a pay cut from a player who didn't even play a third of the defensive snaps the last two years. I see maybe Minny or Chicago courting him, but pretty sure Campbell would not want to put up with JA's crap.

Silly that he was a full participant in the majority of the practices a couple weeks after his injury, but unable to suck it up and play the games. The worst thing that could have happened is he tweaks his knee and is out for the rest of the year, but taking practice reps away from other players and then sitting on game day was completely selfish.

One thing is for sure. The projected starters in the secondary are all more willing and able tacklers than JA has been the last 3 years.

Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo from PFF had some humorous takes on Jaire. They praised his talent but said that came with a 'bit of crazy'. They also mentioned his lack of availability.
As I recall, they thought some team will give him a one year deal for 12M or so.

I don't see how you can pick your spots with finger pointing; everyone loses, period. As the cliche goes, "it starts from the top."
Gute CHOSE to draft potential with volatile personality. He could have passed. Even after the 2nd All Pro year in '22, Alexander's persona had not tempered one bit, Gute CHOSE not to sell high, a major Achilles in his tenure. All this BS about the "Packer Way" and we want "character guys..." Rules for thee, not for me. In the end, a couple great years, a few serviceable, and plethora of headaches; it starts at the top.

There are arguments on this "business decision" with merit from both sides that have been discussed over and over again. The key issue of course is posting on game days i.e. return on investment. Shut down corners are RARE especially those that will also sell out to stop the run in addition to their coverage ability and when on the field he did both. When I look back on the big playoff win over the Cowboy's I also saw a player who stepped it up a notch in a big game, his setting up of MVP candidate Dak Prescott and his breaks on the picks reminded me of Adderley and Woodson. It is too bad something could not be worked out, lets hope the GM puts the cap savings to good use going forward.

The Packers have had too many of these situations where they give a player a huge contract and then find themselves 2-3 seasons later in a situation where they need to either release the player of try to trade him. Rodgers, Bakthiari, now Alexander to name a few. They ended up with nothing in return for either Bak or Alexander. They received some good value back for Rodgers but if they had traded him after 2021 instead of signing him to that huge contract in '22 they would have done much better in terms of their return.

This has been a consistent problem for this Packers management team and it has continued with Love's current contract. In fairness to Love we don't yet know what he will become as an NFL QB but why the big contract?

We'll see how all of this plays out for the defense without Alexander. Hopefully the Packers will add some depth to the CB room and the younger players will take a step up. The Packers will need to figure this out during TC. GPG! Thanks, Since '61

This had to be done. But I don't have to like it.

JA was the last member of the All Dreamy Eyes Packer team. The others were Randall Cobb and Chester Marcol.

Dreamy Eyes. Full Heart. Can't Lose.

Big Sexy has spoken,

Burp

Now don't get me wrong, Jaire was the Best CB on our team last year and our defense is worse without him. However even when he played last year he was not the same player. He played 232 coverage snaps and allowed 231 yards, 56.7% completions, 7.7 yards per target, and an 86.9 passer rating. When you factor in that he faced a lot of bad offenses (he only played against 2 teams that ended the season with winning records) that is not particularly impressive. Heck he gave up more TDs in 6.1 games last year than he did in 15 games in 2022.

I am sad to see him go, but he was not worth the money he would have been getting this year.

The Gutekunst Packers have not been particularly insightful about stringently assessing the character of those they plan to reward with a very large sum of money. One important question to ask beforehand is 'how will this player respond to a huge contract renewal?' Will they start to decline, lose a bit of interest, or will they become even better? I think it is important for teams to more accurately assess that phenomenon as there are huge risks at stake. There are psychologists and tests that can help with character testing.
IMO, all 3 of the most recent highly-paid vets are personalities who prioritize the self more than team. All of their play declined after 'securing the bag'. Some will say Jaire had injuries that kept him from playing but when he practiced all week and failed to show at games, that was a red flag. Clark postponed surgery on long-standing bunions/bone spurs. Would Tom Brady have chosen to let that go?

My guess is that someone like Rasul Douglas would have kept up his excellent effort and play after being paid as he showed he was internally motivated as well as more team oriented. He wanted to see D improvement and took the risk of critiquing Barry. Someone like Gary would not (did not) have exerted that effort/risk.

Of course there are not "Plenty of Losers" with this situation. Actually, I see more of a net gain than a multiple loss with JA taking his talents to the biggest pile of cash. So a few positives:

The CB Room - with more snaps now available for hungry, young and more durable CBs - who can tackle and play well in zone.
The Locker Room - while JA could be entertaining at times - he was likewise annoying. So less babysitting now required.
The Salary Cap - 17.5M re-claimed for extensions and FAs - which can further lock-in the core.

Also I am expecting that Richmond Williams and the Pro Scouting Dept. to be heard from after cutdown day (Aug. 26) - if not before - with another player or two. Perhaps a CB.

I think everybody wins here.

Alexander gets to be a FA and can sign on wherever he wants....if they want him. That's a win for him.
The Packers clear him off the books for 2026 and still save about $6M. That's a win.
The team frees up a roster spot for a younger, healthier guy with an upside. That's a win.

The drama is over. That's a win.
Some other team gets to add him to their team. That's a win.

We have plenty of money to add a better player, and I suspect we'll do that.

xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I think that Gutekunst has changed his philosophy regarding drafting DBs early in the draft. After the past years of Alexander, Savage, Stokes, Jackson not really making a difference, and then we get guys like Hobbs, McKinney, and Nixon in FA and draft 7th rounders like King and Valentine.

When we passed on good CB last year, and chose an offensive lineman instead, I think it signaled a shift in how the Packers are going to address the secondary. I'm not expecting any high draft picks are going to be used on DBs for a while.

We're going to play 2, and we've got 3. One more reliable guy would sure be nice.

"This is going to sound crazy, but when healthy, Alexander would have potentially been the Packers best defensive player."

Not even close. That player is Xavier McKinney. All day. C'mon.