The Green Bay Packers (11-5) suffered a major blow to their Super Bowl hopes. Their Pro Bowl, No. 1 cornerback Jaire Alexander underwent a scope on his knee on Tuesday, per ESPN, to deal with a PCL injury in his knee.
Green Bay is placing Alexander on injured reserve on Saturday, per NFL Media. That means he is out the next four games, so his only chance to play again this season is if the Packers reach the Super Bowl.
“He was trying to get his knee right and it wasn’t getting right,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Tuesday, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on Wednesday. “It’s a tough deal for everyone. It stinks that we’re here, but we’re here.
Alexander’s 2024 season is over, unless Green Bay reaches the Super Bowl, according to ESPN’s reporting.
“I would expect Ja, most likely, is going to be down the rest of the year,” LaFleur said Tuesday, per the team’s website.
Green Bay has been one of the 10 best scoring defenses this season, allowing the sixth-fewest points per game (19.6). Their 29 takeaways this season are the fourth-most in the league, which is 11 more than their total of 18 a season ago, with one game left to play. The additions of new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and safety Xavier McKinney, whose seven interceptions are the second-most in the NFL, have been a boost to the Packers unit.
Green Bay will be relying on 2023 seventh-round corner Carrington Valentine, 2021 first-round pick Eric Stokes and veteran corner/returner Keisean Nixon to fill the void left by Alexander’s absence. Valentine will likely ascend to being the Packers’ No. 1 corner in Alexander’s absence: his 46.2 passer rating against as the primary defender in coverage is the 11th-best in the NFL among 254 players with at least 25 passes thrown their way. McKinney’s 29.8 passer rating against as the primary defender in coverage is the third-best in the entire league.
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