Packer Central

Packers-Lions Inactives: Jaire Alexander Out

Jordan Love officially is active but the Green Bay Packers will line up without three key starters for Sunday’s NFC North showdown against the Detroit Lions.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander is out for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions.
Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander is out for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions. / David Reginek-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions will line up without two of their premier defensive players on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

While quarterback Jordan Love is active, as expected, cornerback Jaire Alexander, who was questionable on the injury report after not practicing all week, is inactive. Alexander suffered a knee injury on the final defensive snap of last week’s victory over the Jaguars.

After missing two games earlier in the season, Alexander had allowed 3-of-8 passing for just 31 yards the last three games. Last week at Jacksonville, Trevor Lawrence threw for more than 300 yards. However, Lawrence was just 1-of-3 passing for 2 yards when targeting Alexander.

In a matchup against prolific Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who leads the NFL in completion percentage and is second in passer rating, the Packers figure to go with Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine as the corners and Keisean Nixon in the slot.

“He’s a guy that played a decent amount for us last year, and he’s faced a little bit of adversity in terms of battling through some injury,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Valentine, who started 12 games as a rookie but is averaging about 16 defensive snaps per game this season. “But we’re confident when given the opportunity that he’s going to go out there and compete and compete at a high level.”

Green Bay’s other inactives:

Center Josh Myers (wrist). Myers is having by far the best season of his career but did not practice all week. The Packers figure to go with Elgton Jenkins at center, Sean Rhyan at left guard and rookie Jordan Morgan at right guard.

The center is instrumental in organizing the blocking assignments. He’s in his sixth season with the Packers, so he knows what he’s doing. The key will be communicating it to Rhyan, who typically starts at right guard, and Morgan, the first-round pick who will be making his first NFL start.

“I know the offense, for sure,” Jenkins said. “I know the offense – been here for a minute, obviously. It’s just really going to be about communication.”

Safety Evan Williams (hamstring). Williams, who has emerged as one of the team’s top defenders, missed most of the Jacksonville game. The pass defense suffered without him, though it should help that fellow rookie Javon Bullard spent the week working at safety instead of nickel.

“It’s like everybody wants to ask and play the rookie here, play the rookie here, put this guy here. It’s not always the easiest thing to do,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “So, I give Bull a lot of credit for what we’ve asked him to do. I think he’s a really good player and I think he’s having a really good rookie year. To have his versatility I think is huge.”

Receiver Malik Heath, defensive end Brenton Cox and offensive tackle Travis Glover are healthy scratches.

Detroit’s inactives include defensive end Josh Paschal, who had taken over for starting defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, a key backup on defense and a stalwart on special teams.

The Lions suffered perhaps the biggest injury-related loss of the season when Hutchinson suffered a broken leg. Even while missing the last two-and-a-half games, Hutchinson entered this week ranked third in the NFL with 7.5 sacks and was tied for first with 17 quarterback hits.

“I see a team that really challenges you,” LaFleur said. “They’re going to play man coverage. They’re going to get up in your grill, be very aggressive in terms of how they coach man coverage.

“But Hutchinson, it’s hard to replace that guy. He is dynamic. He shows up all over the tape, obviously. The thing that stands out most – obviously, he’s a very talented player – but he is relentless and his play style, I’d put him up against anybody in the league (with) the effort and strain, and he plays the game the right way. ,Obviously losing him, that’s a big loss for anybody, but I think they got a lot of guys that they all kind of embody that playstyle.”

In four career games against Green Bay, Hutchinson has 3.5 sacks, four tackles for losses, six quarterback hits and one interception. All the sacks came in his two games at Lambeau Field.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.