The Packers have finally made the decision to release CB Jaire Alexander from his contract after months of seeming back and forth between the two sides on finding common ground on a new deal. Alexander was set to earn $17.5 million from the Packers this year while counting for $24.6 million on the salary cap. The release will result in $17.04 million in dead money for Green Bay, which will be split as $7.519 million in 2025 and $9.524 million in 2026. Green Bay will gain $17.117 million in cap space this year and they will gain $17.494 million next year.

Alexander is a two time Pro Bowler and considered one of the better corners in the NFL when healthy but health has been a major concern for years. Alexander only played four games in 2021 which the Packers overlooked when signing him to an $84 million extension in May of 2022. He had a terrific season in 2022 but has only appeared in 14 games the last two years. Overall the Packers spent $47 million in “new money” for those 14 games making this a big miss for the team.

Why this didn’t happen months ago is anyone’s guess. The Packers should have clearly known that Alexander was not going to rework his contract to a level they saw reasonable and should have moved on. It doesn’t benefit the player at all to lose months of free agency only to be released in June. Teams always hold the leverage in these situations but this just comes across like a lose-lose for both sides to have this drag out the way it did.