The Green Bay Packers clearly didn’t want to pay Jaire Alexander.
The star cornerback clearly didn’t want to take a pay cut.
And now the final action of their time together has been taken, with the Packers releasing Alexander on Monday.
Their separation felt like it was coming for a while, whether that would’ve been via cut or trade. But now it begs a question: Does Green Bay have the CB depth to overcome this move?
One way of looking at it is a resounding no. ESPN’s Mike Clay wrote on Monday that only three Packers cornerbacks played a defensive snap last season, those being Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine. And Clay goes on to say that the only draft pick on a cornerback was seventh-rounder Micah Robinson.
Green Bay has a handful of other journeymen types on their depth chart, but very few sure things.
MORE: Nick Chubb had a sad Browns ending, but that shouldn’t spoil his historic legacy
It’s a conundrum that arises often in the NFL. Do you slightly overpay a player, or do you greatly diminish your depth at a key position?
The Packers chose to save money, with The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman reporting that they’ll get more than $17 million in savings from this maneuver.
It’s up to the Packers to use that money wisely now, to make sure the Alexander release wasn’t in vain.
Because right now, Green Bay is looking at a season of facing Justin Jefferson and Amon-Ra St. Brown without a particularly strong cornerback room.
MORE NFL NEWS:
49ers’ veteran retires from NFL to go to film schoolSaquon Barkley reveals stunning retirement plansVP weighs in on Trey Hendrickson’s contractSteelers wanted $84 million QB instead of RodgersBucs may cut ties with Todd Bowles for 8-time Super Bowl championJayden Daniels shows off skills at a different position
