Jaire Alexander’s contract makes it clear Seahawks were never in the running

The Seattle Seahawks clearly are looking into adding a veteran cornerback this offseason, but so far, they haven't done it. They have reportedly had Shaquill Griffin in for two visits and Rasul Douglas in for one. Both are still free agents.

Jaire Alexander used to be, too. His former team, the Green Bay Packers, released him this offseason due to his injury history. When healthy, he was a shutdown cornerback who was good against the run as well. If the Seahawks wanted a potentially game-changing corner, Alexander was the guy.

But after Alexander signed with the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday, his contract implies that maybe Seattle isn't truly that interested in adding a cornerback. Alexander's deal with Baltimore was reportedly for one season and only $6 million. And that last number is the maximum.

Based on Jaire Alexander's contract, the Seahawks might not want to sign a veteran cornerback after all

Seattle could certainly have afforded that kind of deal. According to Over the Cap, the team has $31 million left to spend in free agency. Alexander's contract is for $4 million, and he could earn up to $2 million more in incentives. The Seahawks could have easily fit that into their cap room.

Of course, Alexander might have wanted to go to a team he saw as potentially being closer to winning the Super Bowl. The Ravens are an excellent team, and certainly a championship hopefully. Taking the kind of money he did implies he wasn't looking for a huge contract.

But Seattle is also in the same conference as the Packers, who let Alexander go after the first wave of free agency when he might have been able to cash in more. If he wanted to take revenge on Green Bay, staying in the same conference and possibly playing the Packers in the playoffs might have been a draw.

Or, most likely, while general manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald might like to add a cornerback, they aren't going to make signing one a priority. $6 million isn't that much money in high-level cornerback standards, so if Seattle does sign Griffin or Douglas, the expectation would be that the deal is for less than $4 million for one season.

This could also be seen as a vote of confidence for Josh Jobe. Seattle brought back Jobe in free agency this offseason, and he appears to be set as one of the starters at outside corner for Seattle. Now, the team has to hope he can be good over the entire season.