Regular participants in the summer free agent market, the Ravens will make another play for a veteran. They are bringing in Jaire Alexander, per a team announcement. Alexander was in Baltimore to sign his deal Wednesday.
Baltimore had not been closely linked to the high-profile cornerback since his Green Bay release, but the team appeared to have a need. Alexander will join Marlon Humphrey and 2024 first-rounder Nate Wiggins to give the Ravens a potentially formidable corner trio. Alexander has seen his stock dip in recent years due to unavailability, but his past two full seasons have brought second-team All-Pro honors. And a few teams were willing to bet on a return to form.
The sides agreed on a one-year deal worth $6MM, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. That represents the max value, per The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, who indicates the contract covers $4MM in base and includes an additional $2MM in incentives. These benchmarks are not exactly unrealistic, as NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo adds they are tied to playing time. Alexander can earn $500K by playing just 35% of the Ravens’ defensive snaps. The other thresholds here — all covering $500K — check in at 40%, 45% and 50%.
This will provide a potential platform for Alexander to reestablish his value ahead of a 2026 free agency bid. A report last week indicated a one-year pact with an eye on a 2026 market trip was the most likely outcome, and it is rather interesting Alexander will fetch a deal at this rate given his considerable injury struggles. But the 2018 first-round pick has shown a high ceiling when healthy. The Ravens, who had already done some CB work this offseason, will bite as they attempt to book an elusive Lamar Jackson-era Super Bowl berth.
A few teams had established themselves as apparent non-suitors, as the Rams and Dolphins were believed to be out on the former Pro Bowler. The Panthers also appeared unlikely to make a push, but the Bills had discussed trade terms with the Packers earlier this offseason. Buffalo, though, used a first-round pick on Maxwell Hairston (as Rasul Douglas remains unsigned). And a handful of teams did reach out to Alexander’s camp following his recent release. On that note, Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports the Ravens did not submit the best offer. They will land him anyway.
This deal also comes a day after Jackson offered an endorsement, telling GM Eric DeCosta to “go get” his former college teammate. Jackson informed media at minicamp (including PFR’s Nikhil Mehta) he backed a reunion. Jackson and Alexander each entered the NFL in the 2018 first round out of Louisville, the latter going to the Packers 14 picks earlier (No. 18). Baltimore now has exclusive negotiating rights with Alexander until the 2026 legal tampering period, but this also stands to be an audition season after the talented cover man missed 20 games over the past two years.
The Packers offered Alexander a pay cut to stay, circling back to the injury-prone CB after dangling him in trades during free agency and the draft. Alexander, 28, balked a pay slash and ended up generating a market. He missed time with groin, back, shoulder and knee injuries from 2023-24 — a period that also included a one-game team-imposed suspension for a strange coin-toss incident against the Panthers in 2023. While the Packers gave the 5-foot-10 corner another chance in 2024, he burned them again with unavailability. Green Bay, which had given Alexander a then-CB-record four-year deal worth $84MM in May 2022, added Nate Hobbs in free agency.
Alexander’s $21MM-AAV contract came despite him missing most of Green Bay’s 2021 season — one in which the team booked the NFC’s No. 1 seed — due to a shoulder injury. Alexander did make it back for the Packers’ divisional-round game — a loss to the 49ers — but that season began a trend of unreliability. Though, Alexander has impressed when on the field.
Pro Football Focus graded Alexander as a top-10 corner upon his return in 2022, and the advanced metrics site viewed him as a plus defender during each of the past two injury-marred years. PFF slotted Alexander 22nd among CB regulars in 2023 and 19th last season. This will help a Ravens that improved during Zach Orr‘s first season in charge. The Ravens have gone to the summer free agent well largely to add edge rushers in recent years, bringing in the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, Kyle Van Noy, Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin Houston. This addition will shake up a CB group that already included an injury reclamation project.
Baltimore added Chidobe Awuzie — on a one-year, $1.26MM deal — following his Titans release in March. Awuzie now represents the lower-profile of the Ravens’ two CB rebound bids, standing to work as the team’s top off-the-bench option. Our Adam La Rose broke down an Awuzie-T.J. Tampa battle for a starting spot Tuesday, but these performers now supply depth.
Awuzie, whom the Titans released after he missed much of last season (on a big-ticket contract) with another injury, could certainly be needed for extensive work based on Alexander’s medical sheet. But the Ravens will hope their Humphrey-Wiggins-Alexander trio holds up as they attempt to topple the Chiefs for the AFC title.
Nikhil Mehta contributed to this post.