Source: Packers’ Jaire Alexander Will Play vs. Raiders’ Davante Adams

Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander, who missed the last two games with a back injury, and Raiders receiver Davante Adams, who is battling a shoulder injury, are expected to play Monday night.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
Oct 9, 2023 10:40 AM EDT
Original:
Oct 9, 2023

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander will be back in the starting lineup for Monday night’s game against Davante Adams and the Las Vegas Raiders, a source told Packer Central.

Alexander was questionable on Saturday’s injury report, just as he was before being listed among the inactives the past two weeks against the Saints and Lions. He practiced all week and got through Sunday’s flight from Green Bay to Las Vegas with no issues.

The two-week break “helped a tremendous amount,” Alexander said. He put his health at “99.5 percent.”

With Alexander’s return, the big individual showdown between All-Pro cornerback and All-Pro receiver will highlight the big Monday night showdown.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Adams is expected to play, as well. He suffered a shoulder injury last week against the Chargers but returned from a brief absence to catch eight passes for 75 yards.

Adams has caught at least six passes in all four games this year. He entered the week ranked third with 33 receptions, ninth with 397 yards, fourth with three touchdowns and second with 50 targets.

Adams starred for the Packers from 2014 through 2021, turning in one of the most prolific runs by a receiver in NFL history. Alexander, the team’s first-round pick in 2018, played alongside Adams for four seasons.

They matched up frequently on the practice field during their training camps, especially those first couple years when the Packers needed Alexander to taste elite competition to get ready for lockdown duty.

So, they know each other well.

“Shoot, I can’t even think back that far, to be honest,” Alexander said. “I’m sure he quivered at the fact, though.”

Adams was coming off his first Pro Bowl season when Alexander arrived. Their daily battles helped Alexander become a star, as well.

“It just gave me more confidence,” Alexander said. He would come to work and he would train like the best, prepare like the best. It just motivated me to do the same. That’s all. Just to up my game and be just as good as him on that side of the ball. That’s all.”

An early moment in the locker room gave Adams the feeling that Alexander would be a “special” player.

“I won’t say I had nothing to do with it, but I didn’t create that monster, but he definitely turned into one,” Adams said this week. “It’s always good to see a player, especially a highly touted player like that, get drafted in the first round and then realize his potential and live up to it. It’s fun to see and it’s definitely going to be fun to play against him.”

Given the individual matchup, the assumption all along is Alexander would be ready for this game – just like Adams would power though his own injury.

“I wouldn’t say it’s like the Super Bowl or the playoffs, but you know, it’s kind of like that,” Alexander said. “It is what it is. I can’t miss this matchup. With the best.”