Packers CB Jaire Alexander ready to lock down again after getting record deal

Jaire Alexander met Deebo Samuel in the hole, which was the worst possible scenario for the Packers.

Alexander didn’t plan on doing much tackling that night in the NFC Divisional Playoff Round. After all, that January game against the 49ers was the All-Pro cornerback’s first since suffering a right shoulder injury in Week 4 tackling Steelers running back Najee Harris. Alexander rarely leaves the field when healthy, but he played only eight snaps in that playoff game. This one cost the Packers, as Samuel evaded Alexander’s lunge with his left shoulder.

Advertisement

The 49ers faced a third-and-7 from Green Bay’s 38-yard line with a minute left in regulation and the score tied at 10. If Alexander had made the tackle, Samuel would’ve gained only 2 or 3 yards, forcing San Francisco to kick a field goal of more than 50 yards in blistering conditions at Lambeau Field. Instead, Alexander whiffed, Samuel earned a first down and Robbie Gould kicked a game-winning 45-yard field goal as time expired to end the Packers’ season.

Alexander has replayed the missed tackle in his head. It’s what fueled him this offseason.

“I was so upset about that missed tackle,” Alexander said this week in his first interview since his Week 4 injury. “If it’s September, I make that tackle. For sure. But I had no intention of going into that game and tackling. I had every intention of covering a wide receiver and locking them up. … The thought was to go in on passing downs to avoid stuff like that. And then it just so happened the run came my way, and you saw the play. I wasn’t ready to tackle him.”

Alexander and the Packers were left to turn the page on a crushing end to an otherwise prolific season, not just because of his gaffe but also because of their ineptitude on offense and special teams that day.

The next chapter for Alexander has included an offseason of really getting back to full health — the Packers cleared him for the 49ers game, but Alexander said he was less than 100 percent — and a four-year contract extension that made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history at $21 million per year.

For Alexander, the new deal shows how much trust the Packers have in him both on and off the field, even coming off a major injury. For the Packers, the deal locks up one of the game’s best defensive players who now, with a fully functioning right shoulder, can prove why he’s deserving of his massive payday.

Advertisement

“I wanted to be recognized as the best player,” Alexander said. “And the best player gets paid the most.”

Jaire Alexander on becoming the highest-paid CB in NFL history: “It was special to me because it just shows how much the organization trusts my ability on and off the field.” pic.twitter.com/3M14O6bTMT

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) June 8, 2022

Alexander vowed his new deal won’t change him. He wore $5 pants from Goodwill when he signed his contract in May.

His pants now?

“They’re still $5,” he said. “I ain’t bought nothing yet.”

Alexander wants to eventually purchase land, but he even said he’s not taking the defensive backs out to dinner because, by Alexander’s ruling, Eric Stokes is still tasked with rookie duties until he plays three more games (he started 14 last season). Stokes, who bought plenty of snacks for the defensive backs last season as part of his initiation, feels differently.

“Oh, heck yeah, Jaire owes me snacks,” Stokes said. “He owes me all of that.”

If you’re wondering what the vibes in the #Packers DB room are like: pic.twitter.com/YSZjFrV6OH

— Nicole Menner (@NicoleMenner) June 8, 2022

Alexander’s return to full health also gives the Packers arguably the best cornerbacks group in the NFL, with Stokes and Rasul Douglas coming off breakout 2021 seasons.

Douglas allowed 32 completions on 64 targets for 5.5 yards per target and had five interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns and two that sealed wins against the Cardinals and Browns. Stokes allowed 48 completions on 97 targets for 5.3 yards per target while tallying 14 passes defensed and an interception. Then there’s the best of the three, Alexander, who in 2020 registered a 0.88 WAR (wins above replacement), the highest of any defensive player that year, per Pro Football Focus, en route to second-team All-Pro honors.

Advertisement

“We’re trying to be the best secondary,” Douglas said. “We’ve got the best two safeties, the best three corners. We’re trying to put that all together.”

"My back is against the wall."

"I'm here trying to revive my career."

"I'm not done yet."

Sammy Watkins agrees with what you probably think about his career.

Why he and the Packers hope, and think, this year will be different for the former No. 4 pick:https://t.co/edLn9Ma7g9

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) June 8, 2022

The Packers must decide which two to play on the outside and whom to play in the slot, but that’s a good problem to have. Alexander already has proved he’s among the league’s best perimeter cornerbacks but added he wants to be on the field at all costs and likes playing inside because he gets to blitz and sack the quarterback.

However the three align on the back end, their captain plans on making sure the group plays as well as it looks on paper.

“I know I’m the best in the league, but what would I be like telling (Stokes) not to be the best? Or Rasul not to be the best?” Alexander said. “That would be selfish. I just tell them, ‘Just be the best.’ … The next you know, all three of us are going to be the best.

“I tell them all the time, Eric Stokes and Rasul, they play as good as any All-Pro corners or any Pro Bowl corner that I’ve seen. That was good to see, being able to pick up where I left off. The sky is the limit at this point because you know who’s back. The general’s back.”

(Top photo of Jaire Alexander: Mark Hoffman / USA Today)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57kmxscHFjZnxzfJFrZmluX2WGcLzAnKKeqqNit6K10Z5kmqSVra6vsMSrZKGdkaHBqcWMq5ycp6KZeqS7za2pmpukZA%3D%3D