Jaire Alexander’s pursuit of happiness took him away from football.
The former Pro Bowl cornerback for the Green Bay Packersstepped 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.”
Coming off a torn PCL and eager to prove that he was still a Pro Bowl-caliber corner, Alexander inked a deal with the Ravens in free agency ahead of the 2025 season. He pushed to be ready for Week 1 to make his debut against the Buffalo Bills in primetime.
Instead, as the cornerback described, he was embarrassed by the performance and lost his confidence in the process.
Alexander ended up becoming a regular inactive for the Ravens in the weeks that followed, when it became clear that rest was necessary for the knee. Confidence shaken, it was no longer a punishment to be left off the game day roster.
“I literally went from being a Pro Bowl corner to not even being angry about being scratched for games,” Alexander said.
Later traded to the Eagles, the cornerback noted he felt good after arriving in Philadelphia. The rest was working for his knee, until he got on the practice field again. That’s when Alexander decided to pull the plug, the night before the Eagles flew to Green Bay for a matchup with the Packers.
“I remember I had this very emotional heart-to-heart talk that morning with Christian Parker, who was the Eagles DBs coach at the time,” Alexander said. “I was basically crying my eyes out to him about letting even more people down. That’d basically been the story of my life for the previous year, at least in my head — me messing up in some way and letting people down, and then feeling miserable.
“I remember telling Coach Parker in that moment: ‘My head’s messed up right now. My head is truly messed up. I don’t know what to do anymore.'”
In the aftermath of stepping away, Alexander took to journaling and focused on his well-being. He said leaving the game was, “like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.”
“Deciding to step away from the game was one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to do. But I absolutely did have to do it.”
The cornerback shared that he does miss being on the field sometimes, but is ultimately proud of recognizing he needed to change. Alexander added that he is in a much better place now, hosting camps for kids and even attempting to build an app to help others play defensive back at a high level.
While those are occupying his time, Alexander hasn’t ruled out a possible NFL return in the future.
“People still sometimes ask me if I’m ever gonna come back and play,” he wrote. “And, you know what … I’ll never say never — I still work out, and the knee’s fine now, so I’m in good shape. But for me, right now, the most important thing really is just to be in a good place overall. To be happy.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned over this past year, it’s that life isn’t always gonna go perfect. There will always be ups and downs. And sometimes just being able to say that you’re in a good place, and just being happy overall….That really is good enough.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jaire Alexander explains decision to step away in Players Tribune post
