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Jamison Hensley
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens granted Lamar Jackson‘s wish Wednesday by signing former Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander.
The one-year deal with Alexander is worth a maximum of $6 million, including $2 million in incentives, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The addition of Alexander gives Baltimore one of the most talented secondaries in the NFL and reunites the two-time Pro Bowler with Jackson, a close friend and former teammate at Louisville.
After Tuesday’s minicamp practice, Jackson made a strong plea to Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta to sign Alexander, saying, “Go get him, Eric.”
“I love all of our corners,” Jackson said. “Don’t get me wrong. But go get him, Eric.”
After Alexander signed his deal with Baltimore, the Ravens posted a video on social media of Jackson celebrating with Alexander by slapping hands and giving him a hug. Alexander and Jackson played at Louisville together from 2015 to 2017.
“It made Lamar happy. I think it made everybody happy,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said after Wednesday’s practice. “It was an opportunity to become a better team today.”
Alexander, 28, was released by the Packers on June 9 following two straight injury-filled seasons. An All-Pro in 2020 and 2022, he played in just 34 of a possible 68 games since the start of the 2021 campaign. Alexander was scheduled to make $17.5 million this season, but none of that was guaranteed.
If Alexander can remain healthy, Baltimore will have one of the strongest defensive backfields in the league. Alexander joins a secondary that has first-round draft picks at cornerback (Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins) and safety (Kyle Hamilton and Malaki Starks). The Ravens likely will line up Alexander and Wiggins on the outside and use Humphrey as the slot cornerback.
“A quote that’s never been said and probably will never be said in NFL history is: ‘We’ve got too many corners who can cover,'” Humphrey said. “I think that’s a great problem to have.”
Baltimore is coming off a season in which its pass defense ranked 31st in the NFL, giving up 244.1 yards per game. But the Ravens have boosted the secondary this offseason by hiring Chuck Pagano as the senior secondary coach, drafting Starks in the first round and now signing Alexander.
The No. 18 pick of the 2018 draft, Alexander has totaled 287 tackles, 12 interceptions and 70 passes defensed.
Alexander was not made available to reporters.
“He’s been one of the best in this league since he got in it,” Hamilton said. “To have anybody like that, especially as a DB, that’s super valuable.”