Lamar Jackson touched on a handful of topics when speaking to the media after their mandatory minicamp practice on Tuesday, but one statement he sent to Ravens GM Eric DeCosta stood out regarding the possibility of adding a former Pro Bowler to the roster ahead of the 2025 NFL season who just recently hit free agency.
Lamar Jackson Publicly Lobbies to Ravens GM to Sign CB Jaire Alexander
When speaking at a press conference following Tuesday’s practice at mandatory minicamp, QB Lamar Jackson playfully lobbied to Ravens GM Eric DeCosta to sign former Pro Bowl CB Jaire Alexander, who hit free agency earlier this month.
“Go get him, Eric,” Jackson said playfully. “I love all of our corners, don’t get me wrong, but go get him, Eric.”
This wasn’t anything close to resembling a public demand from Jackson, who was clearly smiling and laughing while giving his response to a question about Alexander potentially joining the Ravens.
For some additional context, Jackson and Alexander played college football together during their days at Louisville. Based on Jackson’s playful plea to DeCosta, he would really like to become teammates again.
In fact, Jackson had an interesting response when asked if he had contacted Alexander about the possibility of joining forces in Baltimore ahead of the 2025 NFL season.
“Yeah I hit him up,” Jackson said smiling, “I hit him up, but you don’t know… You never know with Jaire. That’s my boy.”
Jackson giving his public stamp of approval to sign Alexander certainly doesn’t hurt the chances of this potential reunion becoming a reality in 2025.
How Would Jaire Alexander Fit Into the Baltimore Ravens Defense in 2025?
Jackson isn’t the only person to think Alexander joining the Ravens would be a good idea with Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus (PFF) naming Baltimore as a potential landing spot for the former Pro Bowl cornerback entering the 2025 NFL season.
Sikkema wrote, “This is another example of a team going all-in if the signing were to happen. The Ravens lost Brandon Stephens from last year’s secondary but still have Marlon Humphrey to play inside and out, as well as second-year cornerback Nate Wiggins, who could be in for a big season after earning a 69.0 PFF coverage grade as a rookie with 11 forced incompletions.”
The loss of Brandon Stephens combined with Marlon Humphrey’s successful move to the slot does potentially open up a full-time spot at cornerback and would give the Ravens a formidable trio of corners to combat 11 personnel in 2025.
Sikkema added, “Baltimore signed Chidobe Awuzie to a one-year deal this offseason, but Alexander would be an upgrade over Awuzie’s 62.4 and 58.3 PFF coverage grades over the past two seasons.”
Alexander is a Pro Bowl caliber player when healthy, but has played just 14 regular season games over the last two seasons combined as a member of the Green Bay Packers.
Yet, it is could be very easy to get excited about the potential dominance of this defense with a player like Alexander joining Humphrey, Nate Wiggins, Kyle Hamilton, and talented rookie prospect Malaki Starks in this Ravens secondary in 2025.
We’ll see if Jackson’s public recruiting pitch is enough to make this reunion with Alexander a reality.
