Packer Central

Packers’ Jaire Alexander, Christian Watson Pressing to Play vs. Cowboys

The Green Bay Packers are hopeful that two of their premier players, Christian Watson and Jaire Alexander, will be available for their playoff game at the Dallas Cowboys.
Bill Huber|
Packers’ Jaire Alexander, Christian Watson Pressing to Play vs. Cowboys
Packers’ Jaire Alexander, Christian Watson Pressing to Play vs. Cowboys

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – On Friday, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said cornerback Jaire Alexander and Christian Watson would be game-time decisions for Sunday’s playoff game at the Dallas Cowboys.

That, indeed, will be the case. Both players will go through pregame workouts to determine their availability for the wild-card matchup.

However, ESPN’s Ed Werder said LaFleur is “inclined” to take a chance on two of his top players rather than take his typically cautious, big-picture-driven approach with injured players.

Obviously, from LaFleur’s perspective, there’s no tomorrow if the Packers lose to the Cowboys. If Alexander aggravates the “freak” ankle injury sustained at Wednesday’s practice or if Watson tweaks the hamstring that’s cost him the last five games and the Packers lose, they’ll have about four months to get ready for the start of organized team activities.

Their availability will boil down to pregame workouts.

From there, does Alexander believe he can withstand the rigors of 60 or 70 defensive snaps against a top-tier passing attack led by MVP candidate Dak Prescott and NFL receptions leader CeeDee Lamb?

Alexander can handle the pain – or he can get some help to handle the pain – but can he cut and turn and accelerate at his usual level, or would the Packers be better served starting a healthy Corey Ballentine?

He is going to great lengths to make it happen:

Alexander wants to play – and his input will be important – but Lamb is a premier player. He caught 11 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s game at Lambeau Field.

Does Watson, who had a breakout game with three touchdown receptions against the Cowboys last year, believe he’s at something close to 90 percent so he can reach top gear as the team’s best deep threat?

“That would be the goal (because) 70-75 (percent) with the stuff that I do on the field just isn’t enough,” Watson said this week.

At cornerback, the Packers took out some insurance by elevating David Long from the practice squad on Saturday. If Alexander can’t play or can’t finish the game, they’d rely on Carrington Valentine and Ballentine at the corners and Keisean Nixon in the slot.

The Packers did not elevate receiver Grant DuBose. So, they’ll line up with Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton, Malik Heath and, perhaps, Watson. They went with Doubs, Reed, Wicks, Melton and Heath for last week’s win against Chicago.

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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.

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