Lamar Jackson couldn’t hide his excitement when the Baltimore Ravens brought in 2x Pro Bowl cornerback and his former teammate Jaire Alexander back in June. “Go get him, Eric (DeCosta). I love all our corners, don’t get me wrong. But go get him, Eric,” Jackson had said just a day before Alexander’s signing.

Fast forward to eight weeks into the 2025 season, and the Ravens have traded the 28-year-old corner to the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the November 4 deadline. Right after that went down, the Ravens’ secondary coach, Chuck Pagano, penned down an emotional note for Alexander.

“We are going to miss you, Ja!! A Pro’s Pro and Man’s Man! What a great example you were on how to handle a really tough situation. You’re LIGHT shined bright every single day. Much Love and Respect❤️❤️🫡🫡,” Pagano wrote on ‘X’.

The Ravens acquired Alexander on a one-year, $4 million contract in June, reuniting him with his former Louisville teammate, Lamar. On Saturday, however, Baltimore sent Alexander to Philly, along with a 2027 seventh-round pick, in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick after the CB was buried on the depth chart for weeks.

The 28-year-old was supposed to bolster the Ravens’ secondary, led by four-time Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey and talented second-year pro Nate Wiggins. But things didn’t go as planned. Alexander missed part of training camp and later struggled in the fourth quarter of the season-opening 41-40 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The crystal? A knee injury.

As a result, through eight weeks, he’s played only a couple of games, logging 61 snaps without a single pick or pass defensed. The Eagles, on the other hand, continue to make trade moves to upgrade their defense. Jaire Alexander is their latest weapon.

The Eagles acquired reinforcement on the outside corner

The Eagles’ defense under Vic Fangio’s guidance ranks 18th in the league. Over the bye week, Howie Roseman was expected to bolster the team’s defense, and he did just that. Earlier this week, Philly acquired another veteran cornerback, Michael Carter II, from the New York Jets.

Fast forward to now, and with the addition of Alexander, and given that Jakorian Bennett is also coming back from injury, the Eagles now have a deep cornerback lineup. We’re talking about Bennett, along with Alexander, Carter, Cooper DeJean, Adoree’ Jackson, Mac McWilliams, Quinyon Mitchell, and Kelee Ringo.

To put it in perspective, the Eagles already have some solid pieces in their secondary with Mitchell and DeJean. What they’ve really been missing is a reliable outside corner to line up opposite Mitchell. And with a couple of trades going down this week, two scenarios start to take shape.

For starters, Carter has spent most of his career playing nickel, which could open the door for DeJean to slide outside full-time if Carter takes over inside. On the other hand, Alexander brings exactly what Fangio’s been looking for: experience and composure on the boundary. If he can stay healthy, there’s a real shot he gets a bigger role in Philly at outside corner. Will he? Won’t he? That we shall see after the bye week.