The Green Bay Packers have released veteran defensive backs Xavier McKinney, Jaire Alexander and Keisean Nixon from their mandatory minicamp, which began Tuesday and runs through Thursday. Coach Matt LaFleur said all three were allowed to leave minicamp after fulfilling their contractual obligations to be present during the offseason training program.
“They were vindicated. From my perspective, minicamp is an extension of OTAs,” LaFleur said Tuesday. “These are three guys who have training bonuses in their contracts. They met their expectations and did a really good job and even went above and beyond what they could have done.
Most veteran contracts in Green Bay include some type of training bonus tied to attendance at an offseason training program. The Packers enjoyed near-perfect attendance from the squad during the offseason program.
Although mincamp is mandatory, all three defensemen performed as required during OTAs and LaFleur granted them the week off.
Alexander will earn $700,000 in training bonuses. McKinney will earn $400,000 and Nixon will earn $200,000.
All three are expected to start in Jeff Hafley’s up-to-date defense; Alexander as a perimeter corner, McKinney as a safety and Nixon as a slot corner.
During Tuesday’s training, Carrington Valentine and rookie Javon Bullard were seen more often on the field in defense for the starting lineup.
