As the Green Bay Packers await the return (hopefully) of Aaron Rodgers for 2022, they're making sure one of their top defensive stars will stay in Wisconsin for years to come.
Green Bay resumed negotiations with star cornerback Jaire Alexander this week on a contract extension, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday during NFL Scouting Combine coverage.
"Usually the extensions take place in the spring or into the summer," Rapoport explained, "but this is certainly someone the Packers want to keep around for a very long time."
Alexander, 25, is due $13.3 million in 2022, the final year of his rookie deal.
A first-round pick in 2018, Alexander has lived up to the hype in Green Bay, earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors in 2020. Alexander was sidelined for much of the 2021 season with a shoulder injury and played in only five games, including sparingly in the Packers' Divisional Round defeat to San Francisco.
Alexander was Brian Gutekunst's first selection as Packers general manager, and the exec surely wants to reward the corner with a deserving deal before he even sniffs free agency. But the Packers, packed tightly against the cap, have Rodgers, impending free agent Davante Adams and other pressing matters to worry about ahead of the new league year.
If and when the Packers do extend Alexander, the defensive back should rank among the top five at his position, between Darius Slay's $16.7 million per year and Jalen Ramsey's position-pacing $20 million on average. Patriots' soon-to-be free agent J.C Jackson is also angling for a top of the market deal. Should he get one in free agency before Alexander strikes green and gold, the Packers CB could have greater leverage on his hands.
