Jaire Alexander: Why I Stepped Away (lots of Bills references)

[DrDawkinstein]

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/jaire-alexander-nfl-football-mental-health

 

The Full Story Behind Why I Stepped Away from the NFL

 

"A few months earlier I’d been dropped by the Packers. Just straight up released. So I’m with the Ravens at this point. We’re going up against Josh Allen and the Bills. This one’d been circled on my calendar all summer. I needed to show the world I was still an All-Pro caliber corner. Needed to leave no doubt. With anyone..." 

 

 

[Process]

He got torched by Keon Coleman and started questioning everything 

[TheBrownBear]

Good for him.  Life's too short to make yourself miserable over a game.

[BillsFanForever19]

I love when people point to Keon Coleman's performance in Week 1 as a defense for his potential.

 

I'm always like "have you not seen or heard where his opposition was at physically and mentally?"

 

The guy literally walked away mid season bc he was so toast in both facets.

[DrDawkinstein]

At least he didnt retire at halftime?

[NoSaint]

2 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

I love when people point to Keon Coleman's performance in Week 1 as a defense for his potential.

 

I'm always like "have you not seen or heard where his opposition was at physically and mentally?"

 

The guy literally walked away mid season bc he was so toast in both facets.

i be will say that’s a really difficult game (half game) to contextualize 

 

you can only play the team on the other side of the ball and he made big plays… and we heard there were in season distractions… 

 

But it felt more like we found a cheat code than a guy legit dominating with his skill 

Edited May 13 by NoSaint

[Sierra Foothills]

49 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

At least he didnt retire at halftime?

 

Another sad story of mental health gone awry.

 

RIP Vontae.

 

3 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/jaire-alexander-nfl-football-mental-health

 

The Full Story Behind Why I Stepped Away from the NFL

 

"A few months earlier I’d been dropped by the Packers. Just straight up released. So I’m with the Ravens at this point. We’re going up against Josh Allen and the Bills. This one’d been circled on my calendar all summer. I needed to show the world I was still an All-Pro caliber corner. Needed to leave no doubt. With anyone..." 

 

Great read... thanks.

 

Jaire sounds like a very smart and introspective person.

 

I hope that he saved lots of money and that he remains in a good head space.

 

[Sierra Foothills]

The next story as you scroll down is a series of reflections from the great AJ Green about the late Rondale Moore, who was drafted the same year (2021) as Elijah Moore and who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 25.

 

AJ states that "there's no load management in football" and discusses the ways in which football players react to being injured.

 

It sheds a great deal of light on Jaire Alexander's story.

 

Edited May 13 by Sierra Foothills

[Old Coot]

Pro athletes are under intense pressure to perform. Life is good when you are successful.

 

When for one reason or another, things start going south, that's when you see how mentally tough these guys are.

 

Some stage comebacks but most, having been successful athletes for most of their lives just can't get over the mental hump.

 

 

 

[Kelly No huddle]

4 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

I love when people point to Keon Coleman's performance in Week 1 as a defense for his potential.

 

I'm always like "have you not seen or heard where his opposition was at physically and mentally?"

 

The guy literally walked away mid season bc he was so toast in both facets.

 

To be fair he was beating Wiggins/ Awuzie too... although both are also overrated like many ravens players 

 

 

Edited May 13 by Kelly No huddle

[Reks Ryan]

On 5/13/2026 at 2:32 PM, DrDawkinstein said:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/jaire-alexander-nfl-football-mental-health

 

The Full Story Behind Why I Stepped Away from the NFL

 

"A few months earlier I’d been dropped by the Packers. Just straight up released. So I’m with the Ravens at this point. We’re going up against Josh Allen and the Bills. This one’d been circled on my calendar all summer. I needed to show the world I was still an All-Pro caliber corner. Needed to leave no doubt. With anyone..." 

 

 

 

excuses, excuses.

 

"Josh throws it across the middle on my side. Any other day, I’m intercepting that ball and taking it the other way."  Give me a break.  I mean, how many pick 6's has Allen thrown in his entire career. 

[Pete]

I will always remember Alexander for the MNF game when he got Diggs On Tilt.  Diggs was Tweeking and having a Meltdown.  I always wondered what Alexander said/did to make Diggs go Crazy on National TV

Edited May 15 by Pete

[dcinmuncie]

36 minutes ago, Pete said:

I will always remember Alexander for the MNF game when he got Diggs On Tilt.  Diggs was Tweeking and having a Meltdown.  I always wondered what Alexander said/did to make Diggs go Crazy on National TV

dude is a f***ing lunatic

 

doesn't take much. 

[blacklabel]

17 hours ago, Reks Ryan said:

 

excuses, excuses.

 

"Josh throws it across the middle on my side. Any other day, I’m intercepting that ball and taking it the other way."  Give me a break.  I mean, how many pick 6's has Allen thrown in his entire career. 

 

I think the flip side to this would be, any other day and Josh doesn't even throw that ball because he would see Jaire isn't two steps behind.

[Captain Hindsight]

18 hours ago, Reks Ryan said:

 

excuses, excuses.

 

"Josh throws it across the middle on my side. Any other day, I’m intercepting that ball and taking it the other way."  Give me a break.  I mean, how many pick 6's has Allen thrown in his entire career. 

I can only think of one in his rookie year

[quincy]

On 5/13/2026 at 10:45 PM, Sierra Foothills said:

The next story as you scroll down is a series of reflections from the great AJ Green about the late Rondale Moore, who was drafted the same year (2021) as Elijah Moore and who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 25.

 

AJ states that "there's no load management in football" and discusses the ways in which football players react to being injured.

 

It sheds a great deal of light on Jaire Alexander's story.

 

 

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/aj-green-nfl-football-rondale-moore

 

Thanks for mentioning this article. It is really insightful. What hit me the most are the paragraphs that I have pasted below. 

 

In Rondale’s mind, he worked so hard … and then it’ll be the laziest guys who seemingly never get an injury like that. Or, he tried to be a good person … and then it’ll be a guy who did some awful ***** off the field who seemingly never gets an injury like that. It’s impossible to make sense of. And what I’d tell him in those moments is, one, I feel his frustration. I feel his pain. But two, he has to understand that there’s more to being alive than playing football. I know that’s hard to accept when you’re young, and it’s hard to hear from a guy like me whose career “worked out,” but it’s true. Because the thing about football is: It will break your heart. Life will break your heart, too, sometimes — but at least there’s things in your control. Football, though? Football will break your heart most of the time.

 

We can relate to the above as Buffalo Bills fans and just as humans in general. 

 

I am glad that AJ then has put the following out there; 

 

And then there’s one more thing I want to say about mental health in the NFL — and I hope that everyone who needs to read this is reading it. All the rules … all the initiatives … all the public statements about awareness … none of that means anything if the people who are making the football decisions, in private, are viewing mental health issues how I feel like a lot of times they still get viewed: as a red flag. That’s the truth. No one in any front office will ever say it out loud. No scout is ever gonna put it in a scouting report. But that’s how it’s viewed in this league by a lot of people. 

And as long as that’s the case? Stories like Rondale’s will probably keep happening. Because it means we’re telling players that having a mental health issue is gonna ***** with their money. And if we’re telling players that, then we’re creating an incentive for them to lie about their mental health. And if players lie about their mental health, then they’re going to feel shame about their mental health. And they’re not going to get the help they need — and whatever issues they’re facing are not going to get better, and are probably going to get worse. So that’s one of the big reasons I want people to read this. I want to celebrate Rondale’s life……… but I also want to make sure we’re having the realest conversation possible about his death. And the way I see it, while Rondale didn’t necessarily die because of NFL culture — NFL culture also didn’t do him no favors. It didn’t HELP him. And I just hope we can get to a place where, for the next young player going through a mental health crisis, it actually does help him. Or it even saves him.

 

 

 

 

[JP51]

On 5/13/2026 at 4:47 PM, DrDawkinstein said:

At least he didnt retire at halftime?

LOL there is that... 

[eball]

On 5/13/2026 at 2:45 PM, Sierra Foothills said:

The next story as you scroll down is a series of reflections from the great AJ Green about the late Rondale Moore, who was drafted the same year (2021) as Elijah Moore and who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 25.

 

AJ states that "there's no load management in football" and discusses the ways in which football players react to being injured.

 

It sheds a great deal of light on Jaire Alexander's story.

 

It’s an understated and underrated aspect of Brady’s hiring that one of the first things he mentioned was practice load. I think him being so young means he understands what is going on more than old school coaches. I think the Bills are going to be trendsetters in terms of managing their players and not overworking them. Hopefully it translates on the field and reduces injuries that are largely based on wear and tear. 
 

[13 Seconds to Mars]

On 5/13/2026 at 2:58 PM, BillsFanForever19 said:

I love when people point to Keon Coleman's performance in Week 1 as a defense for his potential.

 

I'm always like "have you not seen or heard where his opposition was at physically and mentally?"

 

The guy literally walked away mid season bc he was so toast in both facets.

God forbid your receiver exploits a defenses vulnerability 

[Bookie Man]

Dude fell off fast. Crazy how that can happen like that. Like with Shaun Alexander, Dalvin Cook and David Johnson.