David Bakhtiari? He’s still on the PUP list for at least another two weeks. Za’Darius Smith? He just had back surgery and will be out indefinitely. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is on injured reserve for two more games as well, and maybe Elgton Jenkins returns this week, but there’s no guarantee there.
Now, the Green Bay Packers can add All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander to the list of their wounded. In the Packers’ 27-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Alexander suffered a shoulder injury that should keep him out for a few weeks at minimum and could cost him more time depending on how severe the injury ends up.
While the Packers deal with injuries to key players on both sides of the football, few players are more critical to the team’s success on defense than Alexander. One of the true shutdown corners in the NFL, Alexander is an equally adept tackler, and it was his aggressiveness and willingness to make a play on a big, physical running back in the flat on Sunday that resulted in his unfortunate injury.
Now the Packers face a massive question mark in their secondary, particularly with Kevin King missing the last two games as well. The Packers’ 3-1 record through four games is encouraging, but with a late bye week still eight games away and a stretch of four road games in five weeks coming up, Green Bay will need to find some answers in the defensive backfield, and quickly.
Randall Cobb is right where Aaron Rodgers needs him to be | Packers.com
Cobb exploded for a huge game on Sunday afternoon, catching five passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. This is presumably exactly the type of performance Aaron Rodgers envisioned when he insisted on Cobb returning to Green Bay.
Packers CB Jaire Alexander’s Shoulder Injury Leaves Huge Void in Secondary – SI.com
Jaire made a tremendous play to stuff a 4th-and-4 pass attempt into the flat, but he paid for it. Reports after the game suggest that the injury is to the AC joint in his shoulder, but the severity of the injury will determine how long Alexander will be unavailable.
Jaire Alexander’s shoulder injury looms large after Packers’ third consecutive win – The Athletic
With Alexander out, the Packers will surely hope that Kevin King can return to the field this week after missing the last two contests with a concussion. But both he and Eric Stokes have played primarily on the right side of the defense; will one of them line up in Alexander’s typical left cornerback spot, or will Isaac Yiadom step into a much larger role? Time will tell.
5 standouts from Packers 27-17 win over Steelers | Packers Wire
Cobb is an obvious star, but give AJ Dillon plenty of credit for his hard running in sloppy conditions. Even Eric Stokes deserves some praise, as he capped off an inconsistent afternoon with a game-sealing interception.
Turkey: ‘Missing’ man joins search party looking for himself – BBC News
A Turkish man joined a search party without realizing he was the person they were looking for. That’s a particularly impressive feat.
