Someone's gotta do it, I guess.
While we all wait for the Green Bay Packers to trade for Myles Garrett – which, of course, they will, and soon – it's probably time to come to terms with a less enjoyable truth from this upcoming offseason: Jaire Alexander's more-than-likely played his last game for the Packers.
Alexander once again missed a bunch of this season with injuries, and in Brian Gutekunst's end-of-season press conference, the Packers' GM wasn't exactly subtle with his hints about what the team's plans may be for the talented cornerback. It feels like the Alexander-Packers dynamic is a classic example of the cliched "both sides need a fresh start" dynamic, which is probably why most NFL offseason predictions have been full of scenarios where the Packers go get a big-name cornerback.
Bleacher Report hopped on that trend this week as a part of their big roundup of trade ideas. In the piece, they float a name to replace Alexander that, I'll be honest, I don't think Packers fans are going to be over the moon about.
Former first-round pick listed as potential Jaire Alexander replacement for Packers
"Eric Stokes is a free agent. His health and performance are major questions and he shouldn't be counted on as a starter this offseason. As previously noted, Alexander isn't the most dependable, either. That could force them to look at the cornerback trade market where Greg Newsome would be an interesting target. He's only 24 years old and put together three solid seasons before struggling in 2024."
"Struggling in 2024" is doing quite a bit of heavy lifting here. Last year, Newsome ranked 177th out of 223 in overall grade for cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus.
His coverage grade ranked 163rd, he ranked 77th in receptions allowed, and QBs had a 120.7 passer rating when throwing his way.
His age does help his case – and most every cornerback in football, even the good ones, have a couple weird bad seasons – but it's hard to blame Packers fans for not being thrilled at replacing Alexander with someone coming off that bad a year.
Then again, maybe getting away from the Browns is what Newsome needs to bounce back – he can hop on the same flight to Green Bay that Garrett is on.
