Jaire Alexander
Jaire Zakar Alexander is an American former professional football cornerback who played eight seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals, and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft, where he spent seven seasons. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2025 before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles midseason and announced his retirement from football ten days after being traded.
Early life
Alexander was born in Philadelphia, before moving to the Charlotte area as a toddler. Alexander attended Rocky River High School in Mint Hill, North Carolina. While there, he played high school football for the Ravens. He originally committed to the University of South Carolina to play college football but changed his commitment to the University of Louisville.College career
Alexander played at Louisville from 2015 to 2017 under head coach Bobby Petrino. During his career, he had 77 tackles and seven interceptions. For the 2016 season, he was named Second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference. After his junior season in 2017, he decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2018 NFL draft. He decided not to play in the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl with the rest of the Louisville team due to persistent injury issues during the season.College statistics
Professional career
Pre-draft
On December 22, 2017, Alexander announced his decision to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL Draft. As a result of his decision, he chose not to play in the TaxSlayer Bowl. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed all of the combine and positional drills. Among cornerbacks, Alexander finished third in the short shuttle, finished fifth in the three-cone drill, finished sixth in the 40-yard dash, and tied for fourth in the broad jump. On March 29, 2018, Alexander participated at Louisville's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Alexander was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the top cornerback prospect in the draft by NFL analyst Mike Mayock and was ranked the third best cornerback by DraftScout.com.Green Bay Packers
2018
The Green Bay Packers selected Alexander in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. The Green Bay Packers decided to orchestrate a trade in order to acquire the 18th overall pick from the Seattle Seahawks, and agreed to trade their 2018 first, third, and sixth round picks to the Seahawks in exchange for the first round pick the Packers used to draft Alexander and also received a seventh round pick.On May 15, 2018, the Packers signed Alexander to a fully guaranteed four–year, $12.05 million contract that included an initial signing bonus of $6.84 million.
Throughout training camp, Alexander competed to be a starting cornerback against Davon House, Tramon Williams, Kevin King, and Josh Jackson. Head coach Mike McCarthy listed Alexander the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Davon House, Kevin King, and Tramon Williams.
On September 9, 2018, Alexander made his professional regular season debut in the Green Bay Packers' season-opener against the Chicago Bears and recorded three solo tackles during their 24–23 victory. On September 16, 2018, Alexander recorded eight combined tackles and was credited with half a sack during a 29–29 tie with the Minnesota Vikings in a Week 2. During the fourth quarter, Alexander intercepted a pass by Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, but the play was negated due to a roughing the passer call on teammate Clay Matthews III. On September 30, 2018, Alexander made one solo tackle, broke up a pass, and made his first career interception off a pass thrown by Bills' quarterback Josh Allen, that was intended for wide receiver Zay Jones, before he sustained an injury and subsequently exited in the fourth quarter of a 22–0 win against the Buffalo Bills. He was diagnosed with a groin injury and was inactive for two games. In Week 8, he produced seven solo tackles and a career-high five pass deflections as the Packers lost 27–25 at the Los Angeles Rams. On December 2, 2018, the Green Bay Packers fired long-time head coach Mike McCarthy after amounting a 4–7–1 record and named offensive coordinator Joe Philbin the interim head coach for the last four games. He was inactive for the Packers' Week 17 loss to the Detroit Lions after reaggravating his groin injury. He finished with a total 66 combined tackles, 11 pass deflections, one interception, and was credited with half a sack in 13 games and 11 starts. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
2019
On January 8, 2019, the Green Bay Packers announced the official hiring of Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur as the new head coach. During training camp, he competed against Kevin King and Tramon Williams to be the No. 1 starting cornerback following the departures of Davon House and Bashaud Breeland. Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine named Alexander and Kevin King the starting cornerbacks to begin the season.On October 6, 2019, Alexander made two solo tackles, a season–high three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass thrown by Dak Prescott to wide receiver Amari Cooper during a 34–24 win at the Dallas Cowboys. In Week 15, Alexander recorded a season–high eight solo tackles, made two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass thrown by Mitch Trubisky during a 21–13 win against the Chicago Bears. He started in all 16 regular season games and recorded 51 combined tackles, 17 passes defended, two interceptions, and one forced fumble.
The Green Bay Packers finished the 2019 NFL season first in the NFC North with a record of 13–3 and clinched a first-round bye. On January 12, 2020, Alexander started in the first playoff game of his career and recorded nine combined tackles and made one pass deflection as the Packers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–23 in the Divisional Round. On January 19, 2020, he was limited to three solo tackles during a 20–37 loss at the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
2020
He returned as the Packers' No. 1 starting cornerback in 2020 and was again paired with Kevin King. On September 13, 2020, Alexander started in the Green Bay Packers' season–opener at the Minnesota Vikings and recorded five combined tackles, made his first career solo sack for the first safety of his career, and had his only interception of the season on a pass thrown by Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen during a 43–34 victory. He had his first career safety early in the second quarter, after blitzing and tackling Kirk Cousins for a four–yard loss in the end–zone. On November 5, 2020, Alexander made a tackle on running back Jamycal Hasty in the second quarter and immediately exited the game while he was evaluated for a concussion as the Packers won 34–17 at the San Francisco 49ers. He was diagnosed with a concussion and remained in concussion protocol as the Packers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 24–20 in Week 10. He returned the following week and tied his season–high of six combined tackles and had two pass deflections during a 31–34 overtime loss at the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11. In Week 16, he made two combined tackles and set a season–high with three pass deflections as the Packers routed the Tennessee Titans 40–14. He finished the season with 51 combined tackles, 13 passes defended, one interception, one sack, a forced fumble, and a safety in 15 games and 15 starts. On January 8, 2021, he made the 2020 All-Pro Team second-team and was also named to the Pro Bowl for the first time of his career and was invited to represent the NFC in the 2021 Pro Bowl. He received an overall grade of 90.5 from Pro Football Focus in 2020, which ranked first amongst all qualifying cornerbacks.The Green Bay Packers finished with a 13–3 record during the 2020 NFL season and repeated finishing first in the NFC North to clinch a first–round bye. On January 16, 2021, Alexander started in the Divisional Round against the Los Angeles Rams and made one solo tackle while becoming the only cornerback since 2006 to end a game with his opponent finishing with negative yards in a playoff game as the Packers won 32–18. On January 24, 2021, he started in the NFC Championship against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and made three combined tackles, led the team with three pass deflections, and also had a team-leading two interceptions on passes thrown by Tom Brady during the Packers' 31–26 loss, eliminating them from the playoffs. He was ranked 41st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.
2021
On February 8, 2021, the Green Bay Packers announced the hiring of Los Angeles Rams' linebackers coach Joe Barry as their new defensive coordinator after they chose not to renew Mike Pettine's contract. On April 30, 2021, the Green Bay Packers exercised the fifth–year option on Alexander's rookie contract, for a one–year contract worth a guaranteed $13.32 million for the 2022 season.Throughout training camp, he competed to maintain his role as the No. 1 starting cornerback against Kevin King, rookie first-round pick Eric Stokes, and Chandon Sullivan. Head coach Matt LaFleur named him the No. 1 starting cornerback to start the season, alongside Kevin King.
On September 26, 2021, Alexander collected a season–high five combined tackles, a season–high three pass deflections, and had his only interception of the season on a pass by Jimmy Garoppolo to tight end George Kittle during a 30–28 win at the San Francisco 49ers. The following week, he exited in the first quarter of a 27–17 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers after injuring his shoulder. On October 9, 2021, the Green Bay Packers officially placed him on injured reserve with the hopes he could heal naturally and avoid undergoing surgery and missing the entire season. On December 8, 2021, the Packers announced that Alexander would be designated to return to practice. On December 29, 2021, he was officially removed from injured reserve and returned to the active roster. On January 2, 2022, the Green Bay Packers placed Alexander on the COVID-19/reserve list. On January 7, 2022, he was activated off the COVID-19/reserve list, but would miss the last game of the season as he missed 13 games. He was limited to 13 combined tackles, three pass deflections, and one interception in four games and four starts.
The Green Bay Packers finished the 2021 NFL season with a 13–4 record and finished a top the NFC North for the third consecutive season, earning a first-round bye. On January 22, 2022, Alexander appeared in the Packers' 10–13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round, but did not record a stat.