The moment the news broke that the Philadelphia Eagles had traded for cornerback Jaire Alexander over the weekend, not many fans could fully understand the move.
Philly had just traded for former New York Jets cornerback Michael Carter II just mere days prior to the Eagles trading with the Baltimore Ravens for Alexander. Granted, giving up a late-round pick looks great on paper, but there were still concerns about whether Alexander can play at a high level.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman spoke for the first time since making a whopping three trades in the last week before the end of the trade deadline. Roseman discussed the Alexander trade and shared everyone's thoughts on it.
"I remember thinking in June when he signed in Baltimore, 'Man, what a great signing.' After doing a deep dive on him, knowing CP worked with him, and now he's healthy and feeling good, still young, we felt the risk is well worth the reward."
"Sometimes in this league, you acquire information and you watch everything and you say, the risk is worth the reward."
The risk is there with Alexander, but the reward could be sweet
Alexander has had a lackluster start to his season, having signed with the Ravens back in the summer. He had only played in two games before injuries and healthy scratches became a factor. In the first game against the Buffalo Bills, Alexander struggled mightily as the Ravens lost in a shootout.
Now, Alexander enters a secondary that could use him to get back to his two-time Pro Bowl days with the Green Bay Packers. Adoree' Jackson and Kelee Ringo have underperformed significantly, and Jakorian Bennett has not played enough to determine if he will be effective or not.
The good news is that there are some stable pieces at cornerback. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are two of the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL. Carter joins after playing some good football in the slot with the Jets.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio must answer the question as to whether he trusts Alexander on the outside and keeps DeJean in the slot, or moves DeJean to the outside and has Carter in the slot. That might all depend on how Alexander practices and looks when facing top receivers.
Read more: Howie Roseman says what every Eagles fan hoped he would about A.J. Brown
This is the redemption arc for Alexander to try to prove to the NFL that he can still play at a high level. If he fails with yet another Super Bowl-caliber team, he might not have many options in free agency next year.