The Green Bay Packers fell short of their goal of winning the Super Bowl this season. Their postseason journey ended abruptly in the wild-card round when they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, the eventual champions of Super Bowl 59.
After finishing with 11 wins this season and making the playoffs for the second straight year, the Packers are embarking on a pivotal offseason.
Green Bay must find a WR1, premier pass rusher, and figure out its cornerback room for next season.
The Packers’ cornerback room could look completely different in 2025. Former first-round pick Eric Stokes will be an unrestricted free agent in March, and there's one veteran who stands out as a real cut candidate.
Packers Must Cut Jaire Alexander as Next Offseason Move
The Packers' first roster move after the Super Bowl should be cutting Jaire Alexander.
A few years ago, Green Bay fans couldn’t fathom the idea of cutting Alexander after he had a Pro Bowl season in 2022. However, the veteran cornerback has only played in 14 games over the last two years, which isn’t ideal for success.
This season, Alexander played seven games due to a PCL injury. The 27-year-old defensive back isn’t scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent until 2027.
However, Alexander has a potential out in his contract for 2025 and a massive $25.4 million cap hit. If Green Bay cut the veteran cornerback before Jun. 1, the Packers would be on the hook for $18.1 million in dead money and save $6.8M in cap space, per OverTheCap.com.
The Packers could also give Alexander the post-Jun.1 cut designation. This would help them from a dead money and cap flexibility situation. If Green Bay takes this route, the dead money would be $7.8 million and the cap savings would be $17 million.
Despite only playing in seven games this season, the 5-foot-10 defensive back wasn’t horrible in pass coverage under first-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. He recorded a 56.7 completion percentage allowed on targets and an 86.9 pass rating allowed when targeted.
Those are solid numbers for Alexander after only playing seven games in 2023, but the Packers can’t depend on him to stay healthy. This offseason’s free agent cornerback class is expected to be good with names like Byron Murphy, Asante Samuel Jr., Charvarius Ward, and Carton Davis.
If the Packers take the cut route with Alexander, don’t be surprised if GM Brian Gutekunst goes after one of these names and addresses the position in the 2025 NFL Draft.