Ja-Money Passes Up Cash for Quiet

Back for minicamp, Jaire Alexander explained why he gave up a lot of cash by skipping OTAs but will stay in Green Bay through the break until training camp.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Jaire Alexander – aka Ja-Money – might need a new nickname.

Alexander could have earned a $700,000 bonus by participating in a specified number of offseason workouts. Instead, the Green Bay Packers’ ace cornerback skipped the nine voluntary OTA practices.

“I know what works for me at this point,” Alexander said following Day 1 of the Packers’ mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. “I’m on Year 6, so two Pro Bowls, two All-Pros, I mean, I think I know what I got going on here.”

Rather than working out with teammates, Alexander spent most of the spring “training on an island somewhere.” It’s not that he has anything against Green Bay.

Quite the opposite, actually.

While most of his teammates left at the end of last season, Alexander said he stayed in Green Bay from the end of the season until April.

Now, with the offseason program down to Wednesday’s second and final minicamp practice and a Thursday team-building event, most of Alexander’s teammates will scatter from Green Bay once more. Alexander, on the other hand, will mostly stay in Green Bay during the six-week break leading to the start of training camp.

“At this point, I’m focusing on heading back to Green Bay because this is probably the best time to be here when it’s quiet,” Alexander said. “I don’t want anybody thinking I’m going to be here, so maybe I might go to New York. But in all seriousness, I like to be here because I feel like I get the work. When no one’s here and it’s quiet, I can go in Lambeau all day.”

Why?

“It’s so quiet,” he said. “You have no choice but to find peace, especially inside the building. Lambeau’s open all day, go out there and meditate, run some stadiums, that’s all.”

Not that Alexander is going to scrap his offseason plan because of it, but it was an up-and-down return to the practice field. During the limited number of live snaps, new starting quarterback Jordan Love wasn’t shy about throwing it Alexander’s way.

Alexander prevented a couple touchdowns during a red-zone drill but gave up one to Romeo Doubs, who made a tumbling grab in the back of the end zone. He also was beaten deep by Christian Watson for a touchdown.

“Yeah, man, he deserved it,” Alexander said of Doubs’ touchdown. “He’s been working hard. I’ve been watching the practices. Him and Christian have been standing out. He’s been working hard. He deserved that one, you know? But when camp come around, we’re going to see about that.”

Alexander and fellow cornerback Rasul Douglas, who like Alexander skipped the voluntary practices, will play key roles when the team returns for training camp. Long gone are the days when Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams got Alexander ready for his rookie season.

Now, the shoe’s on the other foot. There’s a new starting quarterback in Love and a pair of second-year receivers, Watson and Doubs, who are going to have to emerge as difference-makers if the Packers are going to contend for a playoff berth.

“Literally, when I first got here, that’s the first thing I told Christian and Romeo was, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing, because we’re going to need you,’” Alexander said.

“No one has egos here. There’s no ego with me, because at this point I want to see the best for the team. I just told him keep doing what y’all doing. Doubs caught a touchdown on me today, and I gave him a hug almost. I was like, ‘Good stuff,’ because the year before he didn’t catch anything on me.”

Alexander said he “definitely” would have attended OTAs had the Packers given him a $10 million bonus.

If that sounds weird, Alexander said the “majority” of humans are weird, too. Zigging as everyone else zags, Alexander has his own way. Brash and outspoken on the field, Alexander is quiet and contemplative off the field.

That’s why he was in Green Bay when his teammates weren’t, and why he was gone when his teammates were present.

“Dude,” Alexander said, “that’s how you find peace.”

More Green Bay Packers News

What did you miss today at #Packers minicamp?

- Jordan Love's day.
- The Play of the Day.
- The Player of the Day.
- Video, attendance and much more.https://t.co/NsuCfMCVPB

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 13, 2023

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