Who’s going to take advantage of the Jaire Alexander sweepstakes? Could it be the Philadelphia Eagles, who are coming off a Super Bowl victory against the Kansas City Chiefs?
Former NFL cornerback Bryant McFadden encourages Howie Roseman and his front office to take a long, hard look at the newly-released Green Bay Packers defensive back.
“Think about this: when you look at what the Eagles did a year ago, no question, outstanding defensive performances throughout the year. Led to a championship, but they moved on from Big Play Slay,” said McFadden.
Slay, a critical defensive piece to the Eagles’ last two Super Bowl runs, decided that one more year was necessary before calling it a career. While Slay was open to a potential return to Philadelphia, he understood that the Eagles had a bit of a youth movement happening, with the emergence of Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
As a result, Slay took on a one-year deal to join the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency. The Eagles remain confident in their secondary heading into their first season without Slay since 2020, but McFadden believes Alexander would offer a major boost, helping the rich get richer on the defensive side of the ball.
“When you look at Quinyon Mitchell, no question he is a guy you want to build around,” McFadden added.
“Outside of Quinyon Mitchell, Kelee Ringo is slated to be the starting cornerback opposite of Quinyon Mitchell. If you’re Howie, and everything checks out in terms of the medical, I got to see what it would take to go get Jaire Alexander because you got to understand something about this secondary; they are going to get every opposing offense’s best effort in terms of how well they played a year ago. Adding more experience along with more playmaking ability that Jaire has at his disposal.”
It’s been reported that Alexander’s current health isn’t a concern, but recent history suggests that will be the biggest red flag as he searches for his next NFL home.
Since the 2021 NFL season, Alexander has played in 34 games—with 16 of those games coming during the 2022 season. In seven appearances last year, Alexander collected 16 tackles, seven pass deflections, and two interceptions.
The Eagles are in a good place with or without an Alexander acquisition. If they wanted to travel the path of potentially adding him, the former Steelers cornerback believes that the Eagles would be able to make a strong case.
“If I’m Howie, I roll the dice because one thing Howie has that the other teams have.. Championships!” McFadden finished. “A recent championship. That can be a great recruiting pitch to get a guy like Jaire Alexander.”
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