In one of the biggest moves of the spring, the Green Bay Packers cut one of the league’s top cornerbacks, seven-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowl pick Jaire Alexander. The Packers release of Alexander was not entirely unexpected. The 28-year-old had been embroiled in a contract dispute with the team for months.
But Alexander’s release may only be the first of a series of startling moves in which teams cut ties with some of their premier players.
“While the cornerback is the latest in a series of impact veterans to be cut since the start of the new league year, he won’t be the last this offseason,” wrote Alex Kay of Bleacher Report. “With teams able to carry up to 90 players for camp and needing to pare down to an active roster size of 53 by August 26, it’s only a matter of time before more stars hit the open market.”
From High Hopes to Odd Man Out
Kay offered a prediction for a player likely to be cut by the New England Patriots, and it was a free agent signing from the short-lived tenure of 2024 head coach Jerod Mayo.
The Patriots had high hopes for running back Antonio Gibson when they inked the then-25-year-old to a three year, $11,250,000 contract in March of 2024.
According to SB Nation MLB analyst Bernd Buchmasser, the Patriots structured their contract for the 2020 Washington Commanders third-round pick in a a way that “he is essentially locked into a roster spot for both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, with only his remaining signing bonus proration guaranteed for 2026.”
But Gibson’s lock on his 2025 roster spot may not be as strong as it seemed. The Patriots appear committed to 2021 fourth rounder out of Oklahoma, Rhamondre Stevenson, as their top running back.
This year, under new head coach Mike Vrabel, the Patriots used their second-round draft pick on TreVeon Henderson, the Ohio State runner who led the Big Ten in yards per carry with 7.1.
Vrabel has since signed former Cincinnati Bengals runner Trayveon Williams to a one-year, $1.7 million deal, and also added Lan Larrison out of U.C. Davis — where he was the school’s record holder in all-purpose yards — as an undrafted free agent.
According to Kay, Gibson may now be the odd man out in the New England running backs room.
Cutting Gibson Would Not Hurt Financially
Gibson rushed for 1,037 yards for Washington in 2021, but has not exceeded 546 in any of the three seasons since.
“While Gibson had an opportunity to rehabilitate his career with a Pats squad desperate for playmakers in their backfield, he only managed to put up 538 yards and one score on his 120 totes and caught a pedestrian 23 passes for 206 yards,” Kay wrote.
“Considering Gibson was already working as a distant second option behind starter Rhamondre Stevenson (who logged 62 percent of the offensive snaps in 2024 compared to Gibson’s 33 percent), it’s going to be tough for the sixth-year back to carve out any sort of meaningful role in 2025,” the Bleacher Report scribe continued.
Releasing Gibson would not carry much financial penalty for the Patriots. His “dead cap” hit would be only $2.18 million, while at the same time opening up $2.33 million in cap space.
