Packer Central

Tough Enough? Jaire Alexander Explains Knee Injury

Why did Jaire Alexander play only 10 snaps against the Chicago Bears on Sunday? Why is he not practicing this week? Alexander delivered some huge news on Thursday.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (23) tackles Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift.
Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (23) tackles Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift. / Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – After playing only 10 snaps against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander almost certainly won’t play against the San Francisco 49ers.

Alexander suffered a torn PCL during the final moments of the Oct. 27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, he told The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.

“I went out there and, (shoot), all I could really give was 10 plays and then I felt something,” Alexander said. “If you know how PCL work, it don’t just get done in three weeks, so it just needed more time. I reaggravated it going back out there and only doing 10 plays, so now we just trying to get my knee back right.”

Because he aggravated the injury at Chicago, Alexaner is out indefinitely with big games against big-time quarterbacks on the horizon: at home against the 49ers on Sunday, at home against the Dolphins on a short week on Thanksgiving and at the Lions the following Thursday.

At least he expects to be back for a playoff run. The Packers are 7-3 with a two-game lead over the 49ers, Rams and Seahawks for the final spot in the NFC bracket.

“Yes, sir. Oh, heck yeah. Of course,” he said. “You know, I just need more than 21 days of non-contact. It just needed more time because to take three weeks off and not do much, that still wasn’t enough.”

Alexander was injured on the final defensive play of the Week 8 victory at Jacksonville. Rather than trying to make a leaping breakup of a pass in the end zone that became a touchdown, Alexander pulled up just short of the receiver and limped off the field.

He was inactive the following week against the Detroit Lions and had the bye for a second week off. Alexander tried to play through the injury last week, practicing as limited participation all week and starting the Week 11 game at Chicago.

“I just tried to give it a go,” he said.

For reference on what the injury means for a skill-position player: Rams receiver Puka Nacua was out for six weeks – five games and a bye – after tearing a PCL in September.

Alexander, who has played in 34 of a possible 61 games over the past four seasons, did what he could to get back ASAP.

“I stayed here the whole bye week trying to hopefully come back and make an impact for the team,” Alexander told Schneidman. “It was a game-time decision at that, so we didn’t know until a few minutes before the game if I would play or not.”

The loss of Alexander can’t be understated. He’s allowed 10-of-21 passing this season, according to Sports Info Solutions.

He makes the defense “a lot better,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

“Obviously, he adds a lot to our team, he adds a lot to our defense,” LaFleur said. “But we understand he’s injured, so he’s going to do the things that he has to do to try to get back, and then the guys that are behind him are always going to have to be prepared.”

Without Alexander, the Packers relied on Keisean Nixon and Carrington as the perimeter corners and Javon Bullard in the slot. Eric Stokes, who was a key part of the defense to start the season, played only a few snaps against the Bears.

“I think the competition’s there,” defensive coordiantor Jeff Hafley said on Thursday. “They work hard in practice. I believe in those guys. I believe in Stokes and we’re going to need him. If a guy goes down, the next guy steps up.

:What I love about that group is the competition and the competitive nature, and I think D.A. and Ryan (assistant coaches Derrick Ansley and Ryan Downard) have done a really good job in that room. Whoever is available will be ready to go. Hopefully, we’ll get Ja back and he’ll be ready to go. But if he’s not, it’s the next guy in and let’s go play ball.”

Click here for the full story from The Athletic.

Latest Green Bay Packers News 

Packers-49ers Thursday injury report | The Packers have a huge advantage | Packers-49ers game preview | Packers must focus on best playmakers | MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks | Jordan Love on impact of playoff loss to 49ers | Packers-49ers Wednesday injury report | Familiar face added to practice squad | Latest playoff probabilities | Signs of trouble on defense | Packers-Niners: TV, trends, notes | Packers-49ers matchups | Consensus NFL Power Rankings | Christian Watson’s big game | Latest NFL playoff standings

Published |Modified
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.