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The Green Bay Packers need all the help they can get if they want to sneak their way into the playoffs, but they’ll be without the services of Jaire Alexander for their crucial showdown with the Vikings thanks to what unfolded during the coin toss last weekend.
As things currently stand, the Packers have a 25% chance to punch their ticket to the postseason, but that number will rise to 55% if they can come away with a win when they head up to Minnesota to face off against the Vikings in an NFC North showdown where both squads will be sporting a 7-8 record.
Given the stakes, you’d think Green Bay would want to field the best possible roster, but they’ve decided to exile a starting cornerback to the sideline for the game thanks to what unfolded against the Panthers.
Jaire Alexander wasn’t among the trio of players who were selected to head out onto the field for the pregame coin toss against Carolina last week, but the man who grew up in Charlotte nonetheless decided to join his teammates at midfield.
However, disaster almost struck when Green Bay won the flip. While the Packers were instructed to inform the referee they wanted to defer, Alexander specifically stated he wanted his team’s defense to take the field, which meant the Panthers could have technically earned the right to receive at the start of both halves if head ref Alex Kemp hadn’t given him the chance to clarify what he meant.
While it was ultimately a non-factor in a game where the Packers walked away with the 33-30 victory, head coach Matt LaFleur was not thrilled with what he described as “a big mistake”—one the team determined was egregious enough to warrant suspending Alexander for the game against the Vikings.
The #Packers have suspended CB Jaire Alexander for one game for conduct detrimental to the team.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 27, 2023
This seems like a bit of an overreaction when you consider the conduct that was supposedly “detrimental to the team” didn’t really matter when everything was said and done, and while I can understand why LaFleur wanted to send a message, you have to wonder if a fine would’ve been a more advisable approach.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if Alexander’s absence is equally inconsequential on Sunday.