Alexander Clears COVID Protocol But Out vs. Lions
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander returned to practice on Friday after landing on the team’s COVID list on Sunday, but he will not play in the regular-season finale at the Detroit Lions.
Alexander hasn’t played since Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a shoulder injury. While it was abbreviated, this was his fifth week of practice. Sunday would have been Alexander's last chance to get some game reps before the playoffs start in two weeks, but coach Matt LaFleur did not want to have Alexander make his debut with just one practice this week.
“I would not anticipate Jaire playing. Just only having the one day this week, I don’t want to put him out there,” he said.
Fortunately for Alexander, getting ready to play a game at corner can be accomplished on the practice field against the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams. It's not like playing on the line, when the only way to truly get ready is live reps.
“I know once he’s cleared and Jaire says, ‘OK, coach, I’m ready to roll,’ we’re going to try to put Jaire in the best position for him to help us win football games this year,” defensive backs coach Jerry Gray said. “If he does get cleared and gets a chance to come back, we’re going to do what’s best for Jaire. We know his willingness is going to be there, his athletic ability is going to be there. The first part is he has to get past that mental deal. ‘Am I going to get hurt again?’ And that’s natural. But once he gets past that, then you’re going to see Jaire playing at his best.”
Even with Alexander missing the last dozen games, the Packers are eighth in points allowed and opponent passer rating.
Another player who has been on the COVID list, receiver-returner David Moore, will not play, LaFleur said.
In Detroit, the Lions are hoping for good news on the COVID front for their starting offensive tackles, Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell. They remain on the COVID list and, while they are eligible to be cleared for Sunday, that’s not necessarily the case.
“It will be about the symptoms,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said on Friday. “How are they? We’ve been checking on them every day and they all have symptoms. And so, we’ll just have to see how they feel tomorrow. That will be their fifth day, and so they can come in and we can check them out, see where they’re at, see if it’s affected them physically at all and where their mind’s at. If they feel like they can go and they don’t have the symptoms, then we’re good to go. But otherwise, we won’t really know until tomorrow, to be honest with you.”
Campbell said starting quarterback Jared Goff is "probable" after he missed last week's loss at Seattle with a knee injury. Officially, since probable no longer is an option, Goff is questionable.
