Packers star reveals he tried to play through serious injury

Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (23) walks off the field during training camp on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, at Ray Nitschke Field in Ashwaubenon, Wis. Samantha Madar/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wis.

Green Bay Packers standout cornerback Jaire Alexander missed the team’s Week 9 game with an injury, then played just 10 snaps in his Week 11 return against the Chicago Bears. As it turns out, what was characterized as a knee injury was a good bit more severe than that.

Alexander admitted Thursday that he has been dealing with a torn PCL and will miss more time as a result. Alexander had been hopeful that he would be able to battle through the injury, but he aggravated the problem during his limited showing against Chicago.

“I stayed here the whole bye week trying to hopefully come back and make an impact for the team,” Alexander said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “It was a game-time decision at that, so we didn’t know … until, you know, a few minutes before the game if I would play or not.

“I just tried to give it a go … I went out there and s–t, all I could really give was 10 plays and then it — I felt something. If you know how (posterior cruciate ligaments) work, it don’t just get done in three weeks, so it just needed more time. I reaggravated it going back out there and only doing 10 plays, so now we just trying to get my knee back right.”

A two-time All-Pro selection, injuries have been a big problem for Alexander over the last few seasons. He was limited to seven games in 2023, the same total he has played in this year. He and the Packers are not putting a timetable on his return, so it seems safe he will miss at least a few more weeks.

Alexander has 16 total tackles and two interceptions for Green Bay this season.