After he managed to establish himself as one of the more premier cornerbacks in the league, the Baltimore Ravens couldn’t help but sign Jaire Alexander. After all, the franchise has always fancied defense first and foremost, and a one-year deal figured to help them stack the deck in Lamar Jackson’s favor.
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In the end, however, all they got out of Alexander was a pair of lackluster performances and one of the worst defenses in the league. As a result, the Ravens front office has decided to trade the former Green Bay Packer, along with a 2027 seventh-round draft pick, to the Philadelphia Eagles for nothing more than a 2026 sixth-round draft choice.
According to the former running back and Louisiana native, Emory Hunt, there was likely more that went into the transaction than just the ex-Pro Bowler’s middling play. “To be honest, there may have been something going on behind the scenes,” Hunt surmised during his most recent appearance with CBS Sports.
“On the field, he was just okay… To see him be a healthy scratch for the last three games this year, it’s like, wow… For Baltimore, it was the realization that ‘Hey, maybe we don’t need a Jaire Alexander. We’re gonna give these younger guys, the Keyon Martin’s… a chance to get out there on the field.’ They like what they have in tow, realize that he’s a luxury that they got tired of behind the scenes, and got rid of for compensation.”
The two-time Pro Bowler only saw action twice throughout his tenure with the Ravens, once during their 41-40 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, and once more in Week 5, where they again gave up 44 points to the Houston Texans. Alexander recorded a measly total of five combined tackles throughout those two contests.
He only participated in 39.4% of the available defensive reps in both of those games, so it’s incredibly likely that the Ravens felt as if they simply were not getting their bang for their buck on this one. Rather than simply waste the four million dollars that they gave him, the front office presumably figured that a marginal yet immediate increase in draft capital was better than nothing. Hence, Alexander was traded despite the Ravens’ win on Thursday night in Week 9.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned rookie in Martin has already managed to compile 17 combined tackles. While he has participated in eight games this season, he’s only earned a start in one of them.
Given his improved level of production, however, that figures to change as we continue to go through the back half of the 2025 regular season.
