Jaire Alexander felt it was OK for an inmate to run the asylum.
The Green Bay Packers said itwasn’t.lexander, who wasn’t supposed to be on the field Sunday for the pre-game coin toss against Carolina and almost cost the Packers a possession, was suspended Wednesday for conduct “detrimental to the tea
Jaire Alexander felt it was OK for an inmate to run the asylum.he Green Bay Packers said it wasn’t.
Alexander, who wasn’t supposed to be on the field Sunday for the pre-game coin toss against Carolina and almost cost the Packers a possession, was suspended Wednesday for conduct “detrimental to the team.”
Alexander will miss Green Bay’s must-win game at Minnesota Sunday night. Both teams are 7-8 and fighting for their playoff lives.
“The decision to suspend a player is never easy and not one we take lightly,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Jamie’s actions prior to the game in Carolina led us to take this step.
“As an organization, we have an expectation that everyone puts the team first. While we are disappointed, we had a good conversation with Jaire this morning and fully expect him to learn from this as we move forward together.
We look forward to welcoming him back next week as he is a valued member of this team and will continue to be in the future.”
Each week, the Packers pick three captains to go out for the pre-game coin toss — one from the offense, defense and special teams
Alexander, playing for the first time since Nov. 5, was not one of the captains. But Alexander, who grew up in Charlotte, seemingly nominated himself to go out for the coin flip.
The Packers got to call the toss because they were the visiting team, and Alexander yelled, “Tails.”
It was tails, and Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur had instructed his captains to “defer” the Packers’ choice until the second half.
If Alexander said “defer” like Green Bay’s captains undoubtedly would have, Carolina would have been forced to choose and certainly would have gone on offense.
Instead, Alexander made the mistake of telling referee Alex Kemp that Green Bay wanted to go on defense. So in essence, Alexander was making the pick instead of forcing Carolina to do so.
Had Kemp held the Packers to that declaration, Carolina would have then had the choice to start the second half, meaning the Panthers would have begun both halves on offense.
Kemp gave the Packers a break, though, and gave them a second chance to say defer.
“I said, ‘I want our defense to be out there,’ and they all looked at me like I was crazy,” Alexander said. “
I’m like, I mean it’s pretty simple what I said, like I want the defense to be out there. They like, ‘You mean defer?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I guess.’
“(Kemp) was just like, ‘Defer?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ Everybody was like, ‘Yeah.’ Everybody was laughing. I’m like, what y’all laughing at? It’s pretty obvious what I’m asking for.”
Perhaps. But Alexander should have never been at midfield for the coin toss to begin with.
And because Alexander didn’t properly articulate LaFleur’s wishes, it could have cost the Packers dearly.
“That was a big mistake,” LaFleur said. “That’s something that you review with the guys before they go out there every time about, ‘Hey, we win the toss, we’re going to defer.’
I went to the officials before the game, made sure they knew what we were going to do.
We had an incident earlier this year where we had a similar situation, so always trying to be proactive in that approach.”
Alexander, the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, had missed the previous six games with a mysterious shoulder injury. Now, he’ll be watching when the Packers face Minnesota and all-world wideout Justin Jefferson.
184 yards and two touchdowns when Minnesota beat Green Bay, 23-7, in Week 1. When the teams met again in Week 17, Alexander covered Jefferson throughout and held him to one catch for 15 yards in a 41-17 Green Bay win.
Now, the Packers will be without their top cornerback for their biggest game of the year. And Alexander’s wasted year continues.
