It looks like the Green Bay Packers will be without cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) against the Minnesota Vikings. On Thursday, the Packers listed Alexander as a limited participant in their first real practice of the week after estimating Alexander as a full participant for the team’s walkthrough practice on Wednesday. Including Wednesday’s estimation, Alexander had been a full participant in six of the Packers’ last seven practices, despite him not suiting up on gamedays.
When head coach Matt LaFleur was asked if Alexander is more likely to play this week than last week, he stated, “Probably not.” When asked what Alexander’s issue was, LaFleur said, tongue in cheek, “His knee. He was limited.”
On top of Alexanders’ status, the fact that Keisean Nixon has been playing in the slot recently could force two backups — Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes — into starting outside cornerback roles against the Minnesota Vikings. The Nixon situation only gets more complicated when you consider that Javon Bullard (ankle) and Evan Williams (quad) are both banged up at safety. Bullard has been starting in the slot when everyone is healthy, but he was limited on Thursday while Williams — who LaFleur has said will hopefully be back by the postseason — was a non-participant.
Would the Packers start Bullard at safety over Zayne Anderson if Williams is out? That’s another way that Nixon could be kept in the slot role, meaning playing time for both Valentine and Stokes against a top receiver unit that features Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. No matter how you cut it, this Alexander news is disappointing.
Aside from Bullard and Alexander, the other limited participants in practice today were linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper (ankle), tight end Tucker Kraft), tight end Luke Musgrave (ankle) and tackle Andre Dillard (undisclosed). All of those players were able to finish the game against the New Orleans Saints on Monday.
The non-participants in practice, besides Williams, were linebacker Quay Walker (ankle), receiver Christian Watson (knee) and left guard Elgton Jenkins (undisclosed). If Walker is out, he will be replaced by Eric Wilson, who stepped in for Walker over the last two weeks. Watson is trending toward playing, according to LaFleur. The coach said that if Watson feels good on gameday, they’re going to let him play through his bruising.