Groin, back, shoulder, and knees. These are the injuries Jaire Alexander has sustained over the last two seasons, and it is understandable considering the position he plays. Cornerbacks need to be precise in their movements in order to cover tough wide receivers. You see, tackling them is no easy feat, but his injuries put his position with the team in a dilemma. Green Bay needs to decide if Alexander is fit to contribute next season.

In the 2024 season, he played just seven games and recorded 15 solo tackles, zero forced fumbles, two interceptions, and defended seven passes. His production numbers took a hit even in 2023, but his injury history goes as far back as 2017, even before he was drafted. That year, he faced knee injuries and a hand metacarpal fracture. But when he joined the NFL in 2018, groin injuries too sidelined him for some time. It looks like his things have aggravated in the past two seasons, and head coach Matt LaFleur has some decisions to make. But amidst all this, the team has received some relief regarding Jaire Alexander. What is it?

Salary cap expert Ken Ingalls took to X and wrote: “Insurance cap benefit the Packers received for Jaire Alexander missing 10 games in 2023: $1,461,174 Insurance cap benefit the Packers received for Jaire Alexander missing 10 games in 2024: $1,074,702.” This financial flexibility can be important as the team is planning for the upcoming season, and it could aid in contributing to their incoming rookie contracts (the amount is about 30% of what the team will need in order to sign their entire rookie class). But how does the insurance cap benefit policy work?

Here’s the thing: Teams are allowed to have insurance policies in case their players get injured. Think of it as a salary cap loophole, because the money teams invest in this policy isn’t counted within the salary cap, but when/if they receive insurance money owing to injury, the cap spending is credited back. Obviously, what the Packers received is not the entire amount the team lost due to Alexander’s injury, but is only a part of it(depending on the policy structure).

With this, the Green Bay Packers will have $31,691,715 in cap space, as per ‘The OverCap’, and they rank in position 10 in the NFL for this. As for Alexander, we have seen what he is capable of when healthy. The Packers have already brought in more help after signing cornerback Nate Hobbs for four years.

While his future is up in the air, Jordan Love’s teammate and cornerback, Jaire Alexander, might have shown some improvement with regard to his health. We wonder if the narrative surrounding him is shifting for the better.

Jaire Alexander spotted working out with the Packers!

Xavier McKinney’s Instagram story from earlier this month tells a different story. It featured Alexander as he was working out in the morning with McKinney, who captioned it, “Good work. JA money.” It was not just a post-workout flex, but a statement that, despite the trade rumors, Alexander was still working on his craft. But, one must note that the 2023 season was tough for him.

With back and shoulder injuries limiting him to just seven games, and a fiasco in week 16 of 2023, when he tried to name himself team captain… without permission, it was a blunder. But, down the line, he once again proved himself. He bounced back in Week 18 to lock up DJ Moore, and in the Wild Card game, he erased CeeDee Lamb.

Alexander’s contract that he signed in 2022 for 4 years, at $84 million, made him the highest-paid CB in NFL history at the time, and now he has two more years on it (and is expected to make $17.5 million in 2025 and $19.5 million in 2026), but if the team decides to cut or trade him, he would be a free agent and could sign with a new team. And the new contract would perhaps include incentives based on how much he can plan. But here’s the thing:

If Green Bay makes the decision to cut him out or trade him before June 1, they will have to spend about $18.117 million in dead money. But this same decision would also clear $6.876 million in cap space for 2025. It will be interesting to see whether the team decides to keep him or not. What do you think?