Jaire Alexander chronicles mental-health struggle after Packers exit

Jaire Alexander chronicles mental-health struggle after Packers exit

Former Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander penned a heartbreaking story at The Players Tribune chronicling his decision to step away from football and the difficulties he faced physically and mentally after his departure from Green Bay.

Alexander, cut by the Packers prior to the 2025 season, struggled to stay healthy as he battled through a painful nagging knee injury. His first game with a new team, the Baltimore Ravens, went poorly to start the 2025 season, and after he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, he announced in November he was stepping away from football.

"People still sometimes ask me if I’m ever gonna come back and play," Alexander wrote in the Players Tribune. "And, you know what … I’ll never say never − I still work out, and the knee’s fine now, so I’m in good shape. But for me, right now, the most important thing really is just to be in a good place overall. To be happy."

Alexander said he first suspected his time in Green Bay was ending early in 2025 when the team dragged its feet fulfilling his request for an iPad to watch game film and get a jump on preparation for the next season.

"Not long after that, they got in touch about a potential pay cut," he wrote. "And, you know what … I understood. I was making a lot of money. I just got hurt. I had no problem with taking less money and having to prove my value again. But as we went back and forth, it just seemed like we could never get fully aligned. So now, all of a sudden, I’m needing to think about maybe playing for another team − something I’d never really considered in the past. I’d always thought of myself as a Packer for life, had always wanted to end my career in Green Bay."