Packers safety Xavier McKinney.
Xavier McKinney is still hoping that cornerback Jaire Alexander is back with the Green Bay Packers defense for the 2025 season, but the All-Pro safety is ultimately rooting for things to work out best for his friend and teammate.
With OTAs underway, the Packers are still uncertain about whether Alexander will play for them next season. He is under contract with a $24.6 million salary-cap hit in 2025, per Over the Cap, but neither side has yet committed to him remaining in Green Bay.
Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman reported that the Packers have proposed a restructured contract for Alexander to keep him with the team this year, but he added that Alexander and his camp have not yet agreed to restructure his deal.
In the meantime, McKinney is simply trying to support his friend. He has grown close to the cornerback over his first 14 months with the Packers and worked out with him earlier in the offseason. But while he and the rest of his defensive teammates want him back, he plans to support Alexander regardless of how the situation resolves in the end.
“We would all like him back. I talk to him every day, pretty much. Just trying to stay connected with him,” McKinney said Wednesday. “At the end of the day, I’m going to be behind him regardless of the situation going on. We’ve developed a relationship good enough off the field that I’m just like, ‘Brah, I just want what’s best for you and I’mma be there regardless,’ so I’ve been vocal about that with him.
“We want him here, but however that situation plays out, that’s how it plays out.”
