Jaire Alexander opens up about NFL exit, Packers release and more

Jaire Alexander's pursuit of happiness took him away from football. The former Pro Bowl cornerback for the Green Bay Packers stepped away from the NFL on Nov. 11 , just over a week after being traded from the Baltimore Ravens to the Philadelphia Eagles .

The 29-year-old was focused on "getting himself right physically and mentally," at the time, according to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer , while debating his future in the league About six months later, Alexander opened up about his decision to step away in a post on " The Players' Tribune ," describing the physical and mental difficulties he faced after being released by Green Bay following the 2024 season. Alexander said the decision weighed on him, and he wanted to finish his career with the Packers. "After I got cut," Alexander wrote, "I tried to pretend like it was no big thing, but I never really fully dealt with all the emotions I was feeling, you know what I mean?

What I’ve realized since, in working with my therapist, is that me leaving Green Bay … it was almost like a marriage coming to an end. "And for someone who had devoted so much of his life to this game, that’s not gonna be something that happens and then you just move on like whatever. It lingers.

And sticks with you. Or at least it did with me. And I can tell you point blank that I absolutely blamed myself in the moments when I’d think about that divorce.