With Jaire Alexander’s departure part of what could be a rebuild at cornerback for the Packers, one premier veteran would be an excellent fit.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With or without Jaire Alexander, the Green Bay Packers need a new cornerback.

One of the top corners in the NFL, Charvarius Ward, could be looking for a new team.

“It feels like a final goodbye,” Ward said after the San Francisco 49ers’ season-ending game.

Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame listed the Packers as one of three top landing spots for Ward.

“Green Bay plays a passive style of defense under coordinator Jeff Hafley, ranking 31st in blitz rate,” Verderame said in part of his analysis. “This means Ward won’t be left on an island all the time, and instead would have help from quality safeties, including star Xavier McKinney. That could be beneficial as Ward creeps closer toward turning 30.”

Ward, who will turn 29 on May 16, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs in 2018.

After starting two games as a rookie, Ward started 41 games the next three seasons before signing with the 49ers in 2022. He emerged as one of the NFL’s best.

In 2023, Ward intercepted five passes and led the NFL with 23 passes defensed to earn second-team All-Pro honors. His 2024 season, however, was a nightmare.

On Oct. 28, Ward’s 2-year-old daughter, Amani Joy, died. A grieving Ward missed the next four games, including the 49ers’ trip to Lambeau Field.

“I had the two best years of my career here, and I feel like this year was probably the worst year of my career,” Ward said at the end of the season. “Just because of what I went through, off the field, with my daughter and I almost lost my son early on in the pregnancy, as well, before I lost my daughter. It was just a effed-up year all around for me, for sure.”

Ward is an excellent corner with a lot of zone-coverage defense.

According to SportRadar, Ward in seven seasons allowed a catch rate of 55.0 percent. In six seasons as a starter, Ward was one of 53 corners with at least 40 starts.

Ward ranked second in that group with a completion rate of 54.1 percent and 17th with an 80.8 passer rating. For comparison, Alexander was 16th at 56.2 percent and 11th with a 78.8 rating.

During his All-Pro season, he allowed a catch rate of 54.1 percent with three touchdowns allowed and a 64.5 passer rating.

In 2024, though, he gave up a completion percentage of 61.5 with five touchdowns and a 116.6 rating.

He’s also an excellent tackler.

He missed five tackles in 2024, a career-worst 9.1 percent, and just one tackle in 2022, a league-best 1.1 percent. In 2024, the Packers’ missed-tackle rates were 6.7 percent for Eric Stokes, 10.2 percent for Keisean Nixon, 16.2 percent for Carrington Valentine and 20.0 percent for Alexander.

“He was a problem in Kansas City, and he’s been great for us here,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said in 2023.

After the season, Ward sounded like a man ready for a fresh start.

The Packers could be looking to give fresh starts to Alexander and Stokes, a pair of former first-round picks.

“I have a lot of trauma in California,” Ward said. “Every time I get on the plane to back to California, San Jose, Santa Clara, show up here, it’s where I have bad memories. I go through that every day. I go home every night by myself because my girl doesn’t want to come back to California because of what happened.

“It’s hard being alone, and she’s my strength right now. I need her. I get PTSD a lot. I’ll be throwing up, waking up in the middle of the night all the time, sweating. So, it’s tough, but we will see how it goes.”