When former All-Pro Jaire Alexander signed with the Baltimore Ravens after seven years with the Green Bay Packers, it seemed like a match made in heaven. Alexander was a former Louisville teammate of MVP Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, and the team needed another starting corner.
However, things did not go as planned for Alexander’s tenure with the Ravens. A tenure that will be remembered for injuries and healthy scratches.
Alexander’s time with the Ravens featured two games played and six healthy scratches before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, along with a 7th-round pick in 2027, in return for a 6th-round pick in 2026.
Following his first practice with the Eagles, Alexander shed more light on how his situation with the Ravens went down.
Injuries and Poor Fit
Jaire Alexander came to the Ravens expecting to be a difference maker. Still, from game one against the Buffalo Bills, it became apparent that Alexander and this Ravens defense didn’t mesh well.
Alexander has played just 16 games since 2023 and was a healthy scratch in all but two games with the Ravens. Now with the Eagles, Alexander feels confident that his health is on the upswing, and he can contribute to the defending Super Bowl champions.
Eagles beat reporter Zach Berman of The Athletic got Alexander’s reflections on his time in Baltimore and looking ahead after his first practice with the Eagles.
“Jaire Alexander said he’s healthy and explained the Baltimore situation as other players getting a chance to play,” Berman wrote. “He said this has been in the works for awhile. He didn’t view it as a chance to prove to others he’s the same player as much as showing what he can do. He’s prideful, and as he noted, still in the prime of his career.”
Alexander also noted that he felt Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was honest and fair with how the team approached diminishing his playing time over the last few months.
Alexander, still just 28 years old, wants to prove he still has good football left in him. He will get the chance to showcase on a team that is a homecoming for him.
Coming Full Circle
Some might not have associated Jaire Alexander with Philadelphia before he was traded to the Eagles last week, but Alexander and his family have deep roots in the city.
Alexander was born in Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia before moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, as a child. Still, Alexander has a lot of family in the area, and his mom, Tawanda, is still an Eagles fan.
Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia wrote about Alexander and his Philadelphia ties.
“My mom was born here and is from here. We’ve still got a lot of family here. I’m familiar (with the city). I used to come visit every summer up until high school when football started,” Alexander said.
Alexander’s first game will also be against the team that drafted him, and where he became a star in the NFL, the Packers. Alexander feels a nostalgic sense of returning to Lambeau Field after his departure from the team.
“It’s going to be nostalgic,” he said. “It’s going to be fun seeing the guys that I grew up with. Being in the town that pretty much raised me in the NFL. That’s always fun,” Alexander said.
Alexander has a lot to prove, still, despite all that he’s accomplished, and while he harbors no hard feelings towards the Ravens organization, he wants to prove to them and everyone else that there are still chapters to be written in his football story.
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