On Monday morning, the Green Bay Packers made a major decision for the future of the team. After an offseason full of rumors and speculation about the future of star cornerback Jaire Alexander, the team decided to release him.
Alexander has been a key piece of the defense for years. Seeing him go is bittersweet.
His talent will be missed in the secondary when he’s healthy, but he was only able to play in seven games in each of the last two years. Making the decision to release him does free up a lot of money for the Packers to look at making other moves.
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Following the news of Alexander’s release, one Green Bay insider took to social media to hint at the team making a blockbuster trade with their new cap space.
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Matt Schneidman of The Athletic posted a picture of Cincinnati Bengals star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson in response to one of his own tweets about the cap space the Packers have saved. That is a clear hint that he thinks the team should pursue a trade for Hendrickson.
Hendrickson has been locked into a contract dispute with the Bengals this offseason. They have not offered him nearly the kind of deal that he has been looking for, which has caused some tension between the two sides.
It has been reported that the 30-year-old pass rusher would like to be paid “well above” $30 million per year.
That is a steep contract, but Green Bay badly needs more help in the pass-rushing category. Hendrickson is about as good as it gets in that department.
During the 2024 NFL season with Cincinnati, Hendrickson played in all 17 games. He racked up 46 total tackles to go along with 17.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and six defended passes. Back in 2023, he totaled 43 tackles, 17.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and three defended passes.
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Being able to produce back-to-back 17.5-sack seasons is not easy. Hendrickson would make the Packers’ defense a much more formidable unit.
Of course, this is not a report that Green Bay is discussing a trade for the Bengals’ superstar. Instead, it seems to be a suggestion from Schneidman that would make perfect sense if the Packers could figure out the right price.
Expect to continue hearing rumors about what Green Bay could do with its cap space ahead of the 2025 NFL season.
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