A reconciliation with Jaire Alexander would be a fitting ending to a bizarre saga

When Jaire Alexander's season ended due to injury, speculation began he'd played his final down in Green Bay. Now, he looks to be on the verge of a return. This has all been very weird.

If there were one player on the Green Bay Packers to embody a meme, Jaire Alexander would be the player with the best odds. For months, it looked like it was so over for Alexander in Green Bay. Now, they’re so back, at least that’s the way the two sides appear headed. The Athletic reported the front office has offered a reworked contract to the former All-Pro cornerback, adding that Alexander prefers to stay in Green Bay. Packers News reported that the 28-year-old plans to attend mandatory mini-camp.

And in the biggest upset of this whole story, it’s been the famously flamboyant cornerback who has been the least of the drama, at least publicly, in all of this.

A resolution will provide fodder for fans who believe the media overplayed the contentious nature of the dynamic between star and team. The plans have changed, as Jason laid out two weeks ago. It doesn’t mean what is happening now was always the most likely outcome. For long stretches, it clearly wasn’t.

The weirdness goes back to 2023 (at least), when Alexander made himself an honorary captain for the Carolina Panthers game, leading to a suspension. Matt LaFleur insisted the two sides moved past it and were in a much better place after talking it through with Alexander, who felt like he should have been a captain in his hometown of Charlotte.

Given how the defense played, no one from that side of the ball deserved to be a captain, but that’s another story.

Alexander arrived in 2024 invigorated by a new defensive coordinator and a new star running mate in the secondary. He immediately clicked with Xavier McKinney and produced big plays early in the season, including a pick-six against the Tennessee Titans.

But a fluke slip in the end zone late in the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars started a “will he/won’t he” saga that would make a YA novel jealous.