The Baltimore Ravens didn’t make a huge investment in NFL All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander before the 2025 season, handing him a 1-year, $4 million contract in hopes he could regain some of the form that made him 1 of the NFL’s best during his career.
Alexander proved to be a shell of himself — and likely cost the Ravens the game in the season opener against the Buffalo Bills — and only played in 2 games before the franchise thought it was a better move to offload him to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 6th round pick on November 1.
On Wednesday, Alexander took to his official Instagram account and gave some (totally unprompted) insight into what happened to him during his short time in Baltimore, where he seemed to already be in the midst of some mental health struggles.
Lengthy IG Post Blames Play on ‘Internal Battles’
Alexander never even played a game in Philadelphia, stepping away from football to focus on his “physical and mental health” just 10 days after the trade.
“As much as I loved Baltimore, I didn’t love the position I was in,” Alexander wrote. “I had a bunch of internal battles with myself, I didn’t have that confidence in my abilities I once did. At corner you need ultimate confidence in your abilities and I felt it slipping away. It was at this moment I contemplated if I was making the right decision for my career. What helped me get through these times was not only God & my family but I had some really cool teammates who made it fun to be there. I felt as if I let the organization down. My family and friends would drive up to see me and I wasn’t even playing in the games. I never questioned God but why me. All this while having a smile on my face. Football is a true gladiator sport and once the confidence has gone it’s time to hang it up. Thank you Flock nation for embracing me. Thank you (general manager Eric DeCosta) for believing in me & Thank you for the unlimited therapy sessions I had to encounter to help me with my time there. I am so grateful for the experience.”
Awful Play in Season-Opening Loss to Bills
The Ravens’ 2025 season ended up being a disaster as they entered the year as Super Bowl contenders but went 8-9 overall and missed the postseason.
The thing that kicked off that whole process was a 41-40, season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills in which the Ravens led by 15 points with just 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
“To put Baltimore’s disastrous fourth quarter in perspective, teams had a record of 2,312-3 (.998) when holding a lead of 15 or more points in the final four minutes of a game since 2000, according to ESPN Research,” ESPN’s Jamison Hensley wrote on September 9. “When the Ravens were up 40-25 with 4:48 remaining, their chances of winning were at 99.1%.”
No one was worse than Alexander, who was the worst graded defender for the Ravens with a 29.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus and 106th out of 107 eligible NFL cornerbacks in Week 1.
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