LaFleur Provides Update on Alexander’s Injury

GREEN BAY, Wis. – All-Pro Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander’s status is in doubt with a shoulder injury, coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday.

“We’re still getting all the opinions,” LaFleur said, adding that he’d have more information on Wednesday. Asked if it was a potentially season-ending injury, LaFleur said “everything is getting looked at right now.”

LaFleur did say it was a shoulder injury and not a collarbone. The medical staff was in the process of getting “some other opinions” on how to move forward, he added.

Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s 27-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Alexander blew up a fourth-and-4 pass by delivering a wicked shoulder blow to Steelers running back Najee Harris. Harris broke the tackle, only to be swarmed by Oren Burks and Chandon Sullivan well short of the first-down marker while Alexander grappled with the pain.

Alexander ultimately was driven to the locker room for further evaluation. After the game, while LaFleur said “I don’t know” when asked about the injured right shoulder, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo said Alexander sustained an injured AC joint.

An AC separation, which stands for acromioclavicular separation, occurs when the clavicle or collarbone separates from the shoulder blade. There are different grades of AC injuries, ranging from minor sprains to requiring surgery.

With Alexander out and Kevin King (concussion) inactive, the Packers closed out the victory over Pittsburgh with Eric Stokes and Isaac Yiadom at cornerback and Sullivan in the slot.

Losing Alexander would be a major blow to a defense already without top pass rusher Za’Darius Smith following back surgery.

“He’s a Pro Bowler. He’s a captain,” LaFleur said. “You can never have enough great players out there. Right now, we’ve got a few of our stud players on the bench due to injury.”

Up next is a game at the Cincinnati Bengals, with quarterback Joe Burrow surrounded by receivers Tyler Boyd, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Starting in Week 8, the Packers will face a gauntlet of excellent quarterbacks: the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray, the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, the Vikings’ Kirk Cousins and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford in the five games before the bye.

LaFleur didn’t want to discuss the potential state of the cornerback corps without Alexander. King struggled before missing the last two games with a concussion and Sullivan has struggled in his two games back in the lineup with King out. Stokes has taken his rookie lumps.

“We’re just kind of in that holding pattern until we find out what's really wrong with Ja,” he said.

Alexander went from all-rookie as a first-round pick in 2018 to Pro Bowl alternate in 2019 to Pro Bowler and All-Pro in 2020. According to Pro Football Focus, 78 corners played at least half of the passing snaps. He ranked sixth with 15.1 snaps per reception, third with 0.64 yards per snap and fifth with a 68.3 passer rating, according to PFF. Sports Info Solutions had Alexander giving up a paltry 40.6 percent completion rate, lowest among starters.

With a challenging upbringing and a lack of recruiting interest from major collegiate programs, Alexander became emotional early in training camp when asked about his rise to premier player.

“It meant a lot, you know?” Alexander said before taking a deep breath to catch his emotions. “I’m just thankful that everyone else gets a chance to see what I always thought I was. I love the love, because that’s something that was rarely [given] to me. I think it’s cool but, at the same time, it’s also humbling, because I know where I came from, so it always pushes me. I’m one, if that makes sense. I’m the ant climbing up the cold mountain.”

The #Packers played the entire game without Pro Bowlers David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins and Za’Darius Smith and still beat a good team by 10 points.

Here is our Week 4 report card.https://t.co/eYnGq84eKp
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 4, 2021

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