Packers Hoping Alexander Can Avoid Surgery

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur still didn’t have a definitive answer on All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander’s injured right shoulder.

The injury is significant, though. Speaking after Wednesday’s practice, LaFleur said the team is hoping to avoid surgery “at all costs.” That he didn’t shoot down the premise of surgery altogether means it’s at least a possibility as the team continues to seek outside opinions.

A source said Alexander “might not need” surgery, though he didn’t rule it out, with a final determination coming soon. There’s a lot at stake with the decision given Alexander’s talent, the team’s contender status and Alexander’s upcoming free agency after the 2022 season.

“That guy’s a premier corner in this league,” LaFleur said of Alexander.

It’s been a whirlwind day of cornerback news for the Packers, whose salary cap troubles torpedoed an attempt to acquire former All-Pro Stephon Gilmore from the New England Patriots. Gilmore landed with another NFC contender, the Carolina Panthers, for a sixth-round pick.

“I’m not going to comment on anybody who’s not in our locker room,” LaFleur said.

As a Plan B, they raided the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad for Rasul Douglas, a third-round pick by Philadelphia in 2017 who’s made 29 career starts and intercepted five passes. Last year with Carolina, he started 11 games and finished second on the team with nine passes defensed. This is his fourth team this calendar year – he spent the first half of training camp with Las Vegas and the end of camp with Houston before joining Arizona on Sept. 2.

“He’s played a lot of games in this league. Big, physical corner. He’s really tough. He certainly looks the part and it was good to see him out there today,” LaFleur said.

Without Alexander for Sunday against Cincinnati, the Packers figure to go with veteran Kevin King and rookie Eric Stokes on the outside and Chandon Sullivan in the slot. King missed the last two games with a concussion but practiced on Wednesday. LaFleur said he is “trending in the right direction.” Stokes, the first-round pick, is “getting better and better” every day.

However, the prospect of having to go several games – or maybe even the rest of the season – without arguably the best cornerback in the NFL seems like a daunting challenge for a team that entered this season with Super Bowl aspirations.

King had five interceptions and 15 passes defensed in 2019 but injuries and inconsistent play have been the consistent plague to his career. Sullivan played well in the slot last season but hasn’t performed to that level the past two weeks. And Stokes has taken his rookie lumps; he was attacked repeatedly last week by Pittsburgh but ended the game with an interception.

“It’s obviously big shoes to fill,” receiver Davante Adams said. “Kevin has been around here for a while. He’s made a lot of plays for us. He’s had his ups and downs, but I think where his mind is right now, just as long as he’s feeling good physically, I think he can go out there and hold his own at any point in time. Same with Sully. Since he came [in 2019], I noticed something in him where it’s kind of like Jaire-like as far as the attention to detail. Those guys can definitely make some plays, so I’m sure that they’re looking forward to getting out there and doing that.”

With the Packers in the mix for Gilmore at the start of the day before he ultimately was acquired by the Panthers, Adams replied to Gilmore’s Instagram farewell by saying “Call me.”

Adams, though, had no expectation the Packers, with their cap troubles, would make the move to acquire the 31-year-old, two-time All-Pro.

“I only commented to stir some sh** up just to be funny,” Adams said with a laugh. “It’d be great to have him. He’s a great player and one of the best in the league, for sure. So, it wasn’t a joke like I didn’t want him here – definitely would want him here but definitely did not expect us to pick him up.”

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