The San Francisco 49ers were just presented with an opportunity to upgrade their secondary.
This, in the wake of the Green Bay Packers making the decision to part ways with veteran cornerback Jaire Alexander, news of which was reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
There's only a couple of problems, though. For starters, 31 other teams will likely have some sort of interest in the two-time Pro Bowler, which only serves to drive up his market value.
Second, and more importantly to the their perspective, the Niners already engineered offseason moves that effectively push them out of the running for the 28 year old's services.
49ers likely won't be in the running for Jaire Alexander
General manager John Lynch always stresses the interest to upgrade whenever possible, provided the right conditions are met. However, at least with regard to grabbing Alexander after his recent release, San Francisco's prior moves this offseason pretty much rule out the chance of actually doing so in this context.
True, the 49ers bade farewell to starting cornerback Charvarius Ward this offseason, which left a noticeable hole within the secondary.
Yet the Niners' plan going forward appears to bump fellow corner Deommodore Lenoir full time out to the boundary, while second-year pro Renardo Green is slated to occupy the No. 2 boundary spot. Third-round rookie corner Upton Stout seems destined to take over as San Francisco's first true full-time nickel cornerback since K'Waun Williams patrolled the position from 2017 through 2021.
Unless the 49ers are bearish on Stout's development, which would be hard to determine until training camp begins, there'd be little room to take on Alexander without hindering either the rookie or Green's development.
While grabbing Alexander would be a nice add to a team that still has Super Bowl aspirations, it's likely the opportunity to make a change with a veteran presence has already passed the Niners by.
