On Monday morning, NFL Community’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Inexperienced Bay Packers are releasing two-time Professional Bowl CB Jaire Alexander. That’s one much less high quality cornerback for the Packers when the Pittsburgh Steelers host them later this season.
Alexander’s launch additionally means there’s a new cornerback on the free-agent market. And the Steelers have hung out in search of a top quality choice reverse Joey Porter Jr. Final 12 months, it was Donte Jackson. This 12 months, they signed former Philadelphia Eagles CB Darius Slay to assist bolster their secondary.
And it’s Slay’s presence that provides insider Ray Fittipaldo pause concerning the Steelers pursuing Jaire Alexander.
“Perhaps it might make sense if Slay wasn’t right here and also you weren’t paying him 10 million {dollars},” Fittipaldo mentioned Monday on the North Shore Drive podcast. “However the truth that you might have Slay on board, you’ve acquired Joey Porter, I simply don’t understand how and the place Alexander would slot in.”
The Steelers signed Slay to a completely assured $10 million deal in free company. So, they’re locked into that contract with the 34-year-old Slay. Including Jaire Alexander, who turned 28 earlier this 12 months, would require the Steelers to take a position some huge cash within the cornerback place in a single offseason.
And if the Steelers selected to spend that more money on Jaire Alexander, doubtlessly a one-year prove-it deal (or maybe a longer-term contract), how would they juggle the snaps? As a result of neither Alexander nor Slay are slot corners. Alexander took 14 snaps aligned within the slot in 2024; Slay took 5.
Does that imply that the Steelers received’t take into account upgrading the cornerback place for the long run? As I famous, Jaire Alexander simply turned 28 this 12 months. He’s six years youthful than Slay. And the Steelers would like to have a long-term resolution reverse Porter fairly than addressing it with one-year contracts to older veterans each offseason.
However the issue with Jaire Alexander is his incapacity to remain wholesome. He hasn’t appeared in additional than seven video games in three of the final 4 seasons. So, it might be onerous for the Steelers to signal him to greater than a one-year prove-it deal. The potential is there, as 12 interceptions and 70 passes knocked down in his profession present. However he simply hasn’t been in a position to keep on the sphere. That’s why the Packers launched him.
In the meantime, Darius Slay has by no means performed fewer than 12 video games in a season in his 12-year profession. Regardless of Slay’s age, it’s onerous to think about the Steelers pursuing Jaire Alexander because of the harm issues.
