The Green Bay Packers suffered a big scare in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with one of their star players going down early with an injury. However, it appears that the All-Pro has avoided any major injury.
On the opening drive of their Week 3 matchup, Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander pulled up on the sideline and immediately called for a sub. The team later provided an update that the cornerback was questionable to return with a groin injury before being downgraded to out.
The good news is that the groin injury doesn’t appear long term. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported on Monday, September 26 that Alexander would undergo further testing, but that there was optimism he didn’t suffer a long-term injury.
It’s still unclear if Alexander will be able to play next week against the New England Patriots, but with their starting quarterback Mac Jones expected to miss the game with an ankle injury, the Packers may not want to push their All-Pro defender back too soon.
How Jaire Alexander Became a Top NFL CB
An injury like this is another setback, but when he’s out on the field, Jaire Alexander has been one of the top cornerbacks in the league.
Coming out of Rocky River High School in North Carolina, Alexander was a 3-star recruit expected to commit to South Carolina. He had offers from a few other solid programs including Toledo and Kansas State, but surprised recruiting analysts by committing to play for the Louisville Cardinals.
Alexander declared for the NFL draft after just three seasons with the Cardinals, but his impact was felt over that span. In 29 games, Alexander recorded 77 total tackles, seven interceptions, and 15 pass deflections, earning a second-team All-ACC selection as a sophomore.
After a strong pre-draft process, Alexander was selected by the Packers with the 18th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Packers even traded up with the Seattle Seahawks to take him, giving up a first, third, and sixth-round pick to move up.
That trade paid off big time for the Packers. In four seasons with the Packers heading into 2022, Alexander had recorded five interceptions, 44 pass deflections, and two forced fumbles, already making a Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro selection.
Alexander is off to another hot start in 2022. Along with already snagging an interception, the Pro Bowl cornerback has allowed an opposing passer rating of just 46.9 according to Pro Football Reference.
As long as this groin injury isn’t serious, Alexander should continue to play at an extremely high level going forward.
A New CB Steps Up in Jaire’s Absence
Losing Alexander couldn’t have been a brutal loss that the Packers couldn’t recover from. Fortunately, a new Packers corner in Keisean Nixon stepped up in a huge way against the Buccaneers.
Nixon was an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina in 2019, getting scooped up by the Las Vegas Raiders. He carved out a strong special teams role with the Raiders for three seasons before reuniting with Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia in Green Bay.
Although he was expected to primarily be a special teamer, Nixon was thrust into the slot corner role in Week 3, and played a solid game. He finished the contest with seven total tackles and a crucial forced fumble that gave the ball back to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense.
He may not play much defense once Alexander returns, but Nixon showed that the Packers have some depth in their secondary this year.
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Packers Get Injury Update On All-Pro Defensive Star