It seems as though star cornerback Jaire Alexander’s days with the Green Bay Packers may be coming to an end.
A brilliant tenure that began with two second-team All-Pro honors in the first four seasons has soured over the past two years. Alexander has played just 14 games since the start of 2023 due to injury, and his personality has rubbed the team the wrong way on more than one occasion.
Though Alexander’s extension runs through 2026, they can cut him this offseason and void the final year on the deal, taking a dead cap hit of $19 million in 2025. They can also try to trade him, which might be difficult to do for anything more than a salary dump.
Regardless, the Packers will have to find a replacement at one of the corner spots if Alexander is indeed gone. And one insider believes a current division rival could be the ideal addition.
On Wednesday, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman named Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Murphy as a possible target for the Packers to replace Alexander this winter.
“Cutting or trading cornerback Jaire Alexander — it might be difficult to find a trade partner since teams know the Packers are probably moving on from him — would free up about $6.8 million in cap space if done before June 1, according to Over the Cap,” Schneidman wrote.
“There are some intriguing options in free agency… the Minnesota Vikings’ Byron Murphy, among others.”
Murphy, 27, took a huge step forward in his two-year Vikings tenure after spending his first four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. In 2024, he racked up a team-high six interceptions, set a career-high with 14 pass deflections, and made his first Pro Bowl.
The two-year, $17.5 million contract Murphy got from the Vikings was a steal, but he’ll likely seek a good bit more than that this spring. Even so, he shouldn’t command the big bucks Alexander did a few years back, and could replicate the latter’s production at his best.
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