Jaire Alexander is well known for his play on the field and, more recently, his desire to get out of Green Bay. The former second-team All-Pro cornerback dealt with injuries last season, and that seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
On June 9, he was released by the Packers and is now a free agent, ready to sign elsewhere. One of those landing spots could be in Los Angeles to finish a defensive unit that is, on paper, a few pieces away from being a true top-10 unit.
Recently Released All-Pro Cornerback Potential Fit With Chargers
Does Jaire Alexander Fit Into The Chargers’ Cap Space Situation?
Signing the All-Pro Caliber Jaire Alexander would, of course, take cap space, in which plenty of teams will have to shy away from the signing due to this constraint. However, the Chargers are golden in this area, being 15th in cap space currently ($26,819,361 available), with plenty of money to spend going into 2026 as well.
Defensive Scheme & Fit
With the money out of the way, the fit for Jaire Alexander into Jesse Minter’s defense is in discussion. The former All-Pro cornerback has thrived in zone coverage his entire career, with last season he ranked third in the NFL in PFF zone coverage grading. Minter ran a lot of zone coverage last season, however, doing so mainly out of desperation for his young CBs to develop and produce.
This desperation may not continue as his desire to run man coverage is apparent in interviews and looking at his previous defensive tenures in college and early NFL associate roles. Even with this, Alexander is an above-average man-defender on the outside, giving Derwin James more time in the slot, and more time for Tarheeb Still to perform at his highest potential, which is in the slot.
More flexibility and cross-training, the better. Alexander is known for his outside duties, but could also play in the slot as his 5’10 stature plus 4.38 speed is a great athletic profile to teach said position to.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Compensatory Picks
General Manager Joe Hortiz is a massive believer in the idea of using Compensatory picks to supplement a football roster–and by two years of seeing it in action with the Chargers, it seems like a great approach.
Basically, a compensatory pick is when a player leaves for a contract, the team that is losing said player will receive an extra selection in the draft. This, of course, has plenty of caveats and other rules, but this is the basic idea of said principle.
Hortiz signing Jaire Alexander makes so much sense in this regard, as this contract will likely be a one-year contract, allowing him to leave in free agency this coming off-season. Say, Alexander has a bounce-back healthy season under Jesse Minter, which is very likely, this would garner him a large contract opportunity elsewhere, allowing for the Chargers to collect a nice compensatory selection to further supplement this young, talented roster.
Does It Make Sense To Sign Jaire Alexander Considering The Chargers’ Roster Construction?
The short answer is yes.
The long answer is that the belief in getting better each season, churning out the roster in all parts of the calendar year, aligns with the vision that Hortiz and Head Coach Jim Harbaugh have. Alexander would bolster this Cornerback room, allowing for a starting 3 of: Jaire Alexander, Donte Jackson, and Tarheeb Still.
The depth would be incredible, and it would need to be, considering Alexander has struggled with injuries during his career.
- Cam Hart, the impressive fifth-round rookie last season
- Benjamin St-Juste, a long-time starting Cornerback with size
- Deane Leonard, a special-teams standout with defensive flashes
- Rookie and seventh-round traitsy DB, Trikweze Bridges
- Former starting slot cornerback, Ja’Sir Taylor
The above players will all be depth pieces to foster a successful defensive environment. All in all, the Chargers need to look into signing the former All-Pro cornerback to bolster their defense while keeping their future bright.
Main Image: Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
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