They apparently weren't willing to pay him $17 million this year without some 'coverage' in case he was injured and missed most of this season (as has happened two years in a row)... the two sides apparently were unable to reach some sort of agreement that would cover the Packers in case of injury while still allowing Alexander to earn a whole lot of money if he were actually able to play.

Reason for the release now is that mandatory minicamp starts this week - if Alexander showed up and got hurt, GB would be on the hook for the whole $17 mil for this year; if he didn't show up, it becomes a whole thing with fines, media coverage of a 'hold out'... it was a no-win scenario.

Personally, I'm glad. Having just gone through this with Rodgers, I really don't have the stomach for another "will he be back" saga. I wish they could have worked something out, but apparently not. It's over. He's gone. Now we can forget about it and move on.