One of the most widely anticipated Packers' offseason moves is parting ways with Jaire Alexander. Despite Green Bay's desire to move on from the veteran cornerback, which is the league's worst-kept secret, Alexander is still a member of the Packers right now.
Perhaps GM Brian Gutekunst hopes to exhaust all trade avenues for the polarizing defender before releasing him. While that is understandable, the Packers' moves in free agency on Monday suggest that they didn't learn from their past mistakes with Jaire Alexander.
According to NFL insider Josina Anderson, the Packers are signing Nate Hobbs to a four-year, $48 million deal, with a chance to go up to $51 million. Hobbs is as injury-prone and frustrating as Alexander.
NFL News: Packers Sign CB Nate Hobbs to Four-Year Deal
Hobbs missed at least four games in each of the last three seasons. The fact that it was an ankle injury in 2023 and 2024 is obviously concerning. The year prior, he suffered a broken hand, causing him to miss six games for the Raiders.
Hobbs is a solid defender, when he is healthy and available, especially as a nickel cornerback. He has spent most of his time in Las Vegas in the slot. Per Pro Football Focus, his best season was his rookie campaign, and his performance has been inconsistent since then. His 61.4 overall defensive grade on PFF left plenty to be desired.
The most concerning part of Hobbs' game was that he missed 22.4% of his tackles last season. As a result, he received a very poor 37.6 tackling grade on PFF.
It would have made more sense for the Packers to target a more reliable, proven defender after getting burned by Alexander since his four-year, $84 million deal. Green Bay gave him that lucrative deal after he missed most of the 2021 season and regretted it ever since. Let's hope that is not the case with Hobbs.