Source: Recently acquired Eagles DB Jaire Alexander stepping away from football

Jaire Alexander is stepping away from football, a league source told The Inquirer, confirming a Fox Sports report on Tuesday night.

His reprieve from the game will afford him a chance to get well, physically and mentally, after a tumultuous last few seasons marred by injury.

The Eagles acquired the 28-year-old outside cornerback ahead of the trade deadline last week from the Baltimore Ravens in a late-round pick swap. Alexander, the Green Bay Packers’ No. 18 overall pick out of Louisville in 2018, did not travel with the team to Green Bay ahead of Monday night’s game because of a knee injury/coach’s decision.

Alexander dealt with knee issues throughout his final two seasons in Green Bay from 2023-24. In each season, the 5-foot-10, 196-pound cornerback played just seven games. He was released by the Packers on June 9, roughly six months after undergoing knee surgery.

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The Ravens added Alexander later that month, but he played in just two games during the regular season. He was a healthy scratch for five games.

Even in the games he played, though, Alexander didn’t look like the two-time Pro Bowl player he had become in Green Bay. In the Buffalo Bills’ 41-40 comeback victory over the Ravens in Week 1, Alexander conceded three receptions for 83 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. He was also flagged for defensive pass interference on fourth down in the red zone, which ultimately set up a Bills touchdown.

During his first media session in Philadelphia last week, Alexander indicated that he was in good health and eager for his latest opportunity with the Eagles. He disputed the notion that his inability to get on the field in Baltimore had anything to do with his health.

“I think they just had some guys that they wanted to play,” Alexander said. “Some younger guys. But I’m excited about this opportunity here.”

However, Alexander didn’t travel to Green Bay as the team was still putting a protocol in place to handle his knee, meaning that there were still some lingering medical issues. Still, Alexander was not listed on the injury report last week, indicating he was a full participant in all three practices.

The decision to add Alexander was a gamble on a talented player whose career has been affected by injury. The Eagles had a connection with Alexander, as defensive backs coach Christian Parker was with the Packers in a defensive quality control role when the cornerback was in the early years of his career.

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“You acquire information, you watch everything, and you feel like, ‘Hey, the risk is worth the reward here,’” general manager Howie Roseman said on Nov. 4. “And I think when you talk about a still-young guy, knowing where his health is at now, feeling healthy, feeling good, we felt like the risk was worth the reward with him.”

The Eagles will move forward with a cornerback corps that features Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Adoree’ Jackson, Kelee Ringo, and Michael Carter II, recently acquired from the New York Jets. Jackson, a 30-year-old veteran, was the latest player to start on the outside opposite Mitchell in a 10-7 win over the Packers on Monday.

Alexander isn’t the first Eagles player to leave the team on his own volition this season. Za’Darius Smith, a 33-year-old edge rusher, announced his abrupt retirement on Oct. 13, less than a month and a half after he signed with the team. Coincidentally, both players were teammates with the Packers from 2019-21, but they did not overlap on the Eagles.