The Jaire Alexander trade saga rolls on, as the future of the Green Bay Packers' All-Pro cornerback remains undecided entering April.
General manager Brian Gutekunst spoke to the media at the NFL owner's meetings on Monday, and was asked for an update on Alexander's situation, following months of speculation around his status with the team.
Asked for the plan regarding Alexander, Gutekunst said: "We’re still working through that. Obviously a very good player for us and we have some time to figure that out and see what’s best for him and for the organization."
In response to a follow up question on whether it was possible Alexander could play for Green Bay in 2025, the GM said: "It could be a possibility, absolutely. Again, we’re kind of in the middle of that right now."
There is no firm deadline to trade Alexander, which is a big part of why a decision has not been made to this point.
In previous years, Alexander had roster bonuses in his contract which triggered at the start of the new league year in March, paying him $11.45 million in 2023 and $8 million in 2024. No such bonus was included for 2025, giving the Packers the ability to hold onto him and see if they can extract a draft pick from an interested team.
Even if they intend to part ways eventually, the Packers can carry him on their roster all the way up to the start of the regular season if they see fit, as pre-season injuries could force the hand of a team suddenly needing cornerback help.
They likely want to avoid an awkward training camp standoff though, so it would be surprising if this was not resolved before then.
When asked if he was confident Alexander's situation would be sorted out by the NFL Draft, which is just over three weeks away, Gutekunst seemed to intimate that is his desire, saying: "That would be nice. I don’t think you can say that for sure, but that would be helpful."
Perhaps the most telling quote as it pertains to Alexander came towards the end of the session, when Gutekunst not so subtly let the rest of the NFL know he fully intends to get a draft pick for his star corner, rather than just releasing him.
Gutekunst said: "We invested a lot in Jaire and we want to make sure if he’s not going to be on our football team helping us win games, that we get something back for that investment."
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported during the NFL scouting combine that Green Bay had held trade conversations around Alexander, although no further firm reporting has emerged around the progress of those talks, or any interested parties.
It remains to be seen when Alexander's future will finally be decided, but it seems Gutekunst is holding firm, much like he did with Aaron Rodgers two years ago, or Davante Adams the year before. When he wants to get a draft pick for a player, he has usually accomplished it.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Jaire Alexander trade latest: Packers GM issues update
