The Green Bay Packers officially released cornerback Jaire Alexander on Monday. While the move has big salary cap implications for 2025 and beyond, it also had roster repercussions. Cornerback, which was already a need, is a much more pronounced problem — even if you consider that Alexander would play around half the snaps.
There are questions the Packers will have to answer moving forward, and there are no clear or easy solutions on the roster.
Has the philosophy changed?
Al Harris, Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams, Sam Shields, Jaire Alexander. Over the past two decades, the Packers have always tried to have a top cornerback to alter the complexity of the defense. But since taking Eric Stokes in the first round in 2021, general manager Brian Gutekunst hasn’t made significant draft investments at the position — only seventh-round picks in Carrington Valentine and Micah Robinson. This year, the team signed Nate Hobbs to a mid-level contract in free agency.
Maybe it was just a matter of the right opportunities not presenting themselves, but maybe Gutekunst has changed his approach a little bit. In today’s NFL, is having a lockdown cornerback so important? There’s a good argument indicating that cornerback room is a weak-link system, and the Packers suffered with secondary and tertiary options when Jaire was on the roster.
So now, instead of paying top money to one specific player, it would make some sense to spread investments to make sure the team has three, four viable starters.
Is Nixon good enough?
Now, the following question is if the Packers have three or four viable starters, and if the good ones are good enough. Keisean Nixon is expected to be the leading boundary cornerback, and he had a decent season in 2024 when moved to the outside. However, he’s not exactly what you would expect from the best cornerback on a roster.
Last season, he allowed a 99.7 passer rating when targeted, 20 points higher than Alexander in his seven games for the Packers.
There’s a possibility for Nixon to get better and face the top wide receivers on the other side, but it’s far from a guarantee that it will automatically work.
Can Bullard cover?
Javon Bullard started his rookie season playing at deep safety, then moved to the nickel, where he’s expected to spend more time this season. The problem is that coverage was the weakest part of Bullard’s game. He allowed a 121.4 passer rating when targeted, with a 46.9 PFF coverage grade. He’s a good tackler and run defender, imperative aspects of the game for a slot corner, but if the former second-round pick doesn’t improve in coverage, it will be hard to keep him in the starting lineup.
Can Hobbs stay healthy?
Signing Nate Hobbs in free agency was the Packers’ biggest move at cornerback. But if you were frustrated with Jaire Alexander’s injuries, buckle up. Hobbs missed 16 games over the past three seasons with different injuries — ankle issues are the most frequent ones. He’s a physical but smaller corner, which is a risky combination.
Hopefully for the Packers, Hobbs will finally stay fully healthy in 2025, because if he doesn’t, that would certainly test the weak-link theory.
Why not Valentine?
It’s a little bit weird why the Packers don’t fully trust Carrington Valentine, a former seventh-rounder going into his third NFL season. Last year, he played 50.23% of the defensive snaps, behind Keisean Nixon, Eric Stokes (!), and Javon Bullard.
However, he was the Packers’ best cornerback in passer rating when targeted (79.6), even better than Jaire Alexander. Valentine is also the most natural boundary corner on the roster, which is particularly important for a room that has Nixon and Hobbs.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t seem like the Packers prefer to have him on the field. Based on what the coaches have said, they want to play Nixon and Hobbs outside, with Bullard in the slot. There will be competition, but Valentine probably deserved more praise.
Is there enough depth?
For the weak-link theory to work, you can’t have a weak link. The Packers have a decent floor for their top 4 with Nixon, Hobbs, Valentine, and Bullard, but they may be an injury or two away from having real issues. Beyond them, the options are limited.
There will be a battle for the fifth spot on the roster, and the main competitors are Kamal Hadden and Kalen King, who spent the 2024 season on the practice squad, seventh-round rookie Micah Robinson, and recently-signed Gregory Junior. The roster also has Isaiah Dunn and undrafted rookies Johnathan Baldwin and Tyron Herring. Perhaps, another depth addition to compete would be a wise move.