The Philadelphia Eagles have acquired cornerback Jaire Alexander and a 2027 seventh round pick from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a 2026 sixth round pick on Saturday.
It was no secret that the Eagles wanted to bolster their secondary, though many believed they had likely addressed that need when they traded for CB Michael Carter II from the Jets earlier this week. However GM Howie Roseman clearly felt that the club needed additional depth, and brought in the 28 year old former All-Pro.
By adding Alexander into the mix, Vic Fangio’s defence now has some additional flexibility on the outside opposite shutdown corner Quinyon Mitchell. Multiple outlets previously reported that Fangio believes that CB Cooper DeJean is amongst the best slot corners in the league, and didn’t want to lose that by moving him to the outside to address Philadelphia’s ongoing CB2 issues.
By adding Alexander, the team now has the former Packer standout, Jakorian Bennett (who is designated to return following the team’s bye week), Carter II, Adoree Jackson, Mac McWilliams, and Kelee Ringo to choose from. Ringo, Jackson and Bennett have each had their moments this season, but have yet to string together multiple games of high level performances.
Opposing defences have regularly targeted the side of the field opposite Mitchell through the first half of the season and have had relatively good success in doing so. While Alexander’s per game stats have regressed since his last Pro Bowl appearance in 2022, Philadelphia is banking on the veteran defensive back regaining some of his previous glory with a change of scenery.
The 5’10” defender has been hampered by injuries the last several seasons, being limited to just 16 games since the start of the 2023 NFL campaign. However, the Philadelphia native could see a boost in production returning to his hometown, as he won’t need to be the shutdown corner that was tasked with shadowing the opposing team’s top wideout each game like he did in Green Bay.
It’s a relatively low risk, high reward move for the Eagles, who essentially trade back a round with a day 3 pick to see if they can get the veteran corner back on track in the City of Brotherly Love.
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.