GREEN BAY — As the Green Bay Packers work through whether or not they will keep two-time All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander on their roster for 2025, the team is holding Alexander out of the team’s on-field work this week during Phase I of the offseason program.

Head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed the approach on Friday, as the veterans took the weekend off and the rookie minicamp kicked off.

Presumably, the Packers and Alexander’s camp struck an accord as they try to figure out whether the 28-year-old shutdown corner will return to the team on an adjusted contract, will be traded elsewhere or ultimately will be released.

Alexander took part in the first week of the offseason program, which was held virtually because of the NFL Draft happening in Green Bay.

But the Packers likely don’t want to risk having Alexander take part in on-field work and sustain a significant injury that would put them on the hook for the entire $16.15 million base salary he’s owed in 2025.

Alexander can earn a $700,000 workout bonus if he takes part in a prescribed percentage of the offseason workouts, and it’s possible that the Packers have vowed to pay that workout bonus even though Alexander isn’t on the field at this point.

Where those conversations stand and what general manager Brian Gutekunst and Alexander’s agent, John Thornton, ultimately decide remains to be seen. ESPN.com reported earlier in the week that all three options — Alexander playing for the Packers this season, him being traded elsewhere or him being released — remain on the table.

“To be honest with you, I don’t have many updates in regards to where we are in that whole situation,” LaFleur said. “I just know we’re trying to work through it.”

He’s feeling 22 | First-round pick Matthew Golden acknowledged that wide receivers don’t normally wear No. 22. But Golden said his jersey choice is an homage to his grandmother, Penny, who helped raise him and who he calls his biggest supporter.

“Her favorite number was ‘2’ growing up, and she told me she wanted me to represent that number,” said Golden, who wore No. 2 in college at both Houston and Texas — but arrived in Green Bay with backup quarterback Malik Willis already wearing No. 2. “I feel like it kind of made sense to me.”

Golden, who was initially issued No. 81 by the team, said he never asked Willis if he’d give up the No. 2 jersey.

“I talked to the guy that gave me the numbers and I asked him if I could get 22,” Golden said. “He said it was up for grabs, so I took it.”

An endorsement from ‘X’ | The Packers likely would have signed ex-New York Giants linebacker Isaiah Simmons anyway this week, even without a high-profile endorsement, knowing that Simmons, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, is a top-flight athlete who still has plenty of potential.

But first-team All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney putting in a good word for his former Giants teammate didn’t hurt, that’s for sure.

“X gave it two thumbs up,” LaFleur said. “That is meaningful, when you have a player like X, coming from New York, who was a teammate with him, and you just ask those questions. He said he’s a great teammate, and that’s all I needed to hear.”

The Packers are intrigued by the low-risk, high-reward of Simmons, who has played some safety but will work out of the linebackers room, LaFleur said.

“He’s a very talented player and he’s played a lot of ball in this league,” LaFleur said. “The thing that you love about him is he’s got a lot of versatility to do a lot of different things. I know in New York, just when we went against him a couple years ago, specifically situationally, he was all over the place.

“I think we have a vision for him, and we’ll just watch and see how that progresses over time.”

Free-agent additions | The Packers’ 20-year streak of having one undrafted rookie free agent on their opening-day roster needed a loophole to be extended last year — the team didn’t keep any of its own undrafted rookies who went through camp with them, but subsequently added kicker Brayden Narveson after he was cut by the Tennessee Titans — but even with it remining intact on a technicality, the organization’s willingness to give undrafted players a fair shake is well known.

As a result, it’s a still a safe bet that one of the 10 undrafted rookies the team officially signed on Friday as the rookie camp kicked off will be on the team when the regular season begins in early September.

The 10 free agents are UNLV defensive back Johnathan Baldwin; Rice offensive tackle Brant Banks; Florida Atlantic safety Kahzir Brown; Minnesota guard Tyler Cooper, a St. Croix Falls native; Delaware cornerback Tyron Herring; South Dakota State running back Amar Johnson; Kentucky linebacker Jamon Johnson; Northern Illinois guard J.J. Lippe, a Whitefish Bay native; Georgia defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse; and Georgia Southern running back Jalen White.

Done deals | The Packers had signed six of their eight draft picks to their rookie contracts before the first day of the rookie camp was even over.

Already under contract are third-round wide receiver Savion Williams, fourth-round defensive end Barryn Sorrell, fifth-round defensive end Collin Oliver, sixth-round defensive tackle Warren Brinson, and both of the team’s seventh-round picks — cornerback Micah Robinson and offensive lineman John Williams.

The deals left only Golden and second-round offensive lineman Anthony Belton still unsigned.

​COPYRIGHT 2025 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.