Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander revealed Thursday that he suffered a torn PCL in his right knee and expects to be out for at least another week, if not more.
Alexander did not participate in training on Wednesday and Thursday. Although the Packers have not officially stated his status for the Week 12 matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, he will not be available to play.
The two-time Pro Bowler originally suffered the injury in Week 1’s 30-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Alexander did not play the following week in a 24-14 loss to the Detroit Lions. After the bye week, he tried to play against the Chicago Bears, but could only go on 10 snaps.
“It was a game-time decision, so we didn’t know … until, you know, a few minutes before the game if I was going to play or not,” Alexander told The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.
“I tried to try it out … I went out there and really could only give 10 games and then I felt something,” he continued. “If you know how [posterior cruciate ligaments)] work, it’s not done in three weeks, so it just needed more time. I made it worse by coming back and only played 10 games, so now we’re just trying to get my knee back on track.”
When asked if he could return to All-Pro form this season (he won that honor in 2020 and 2022), Alexander said he could but needed more than three weeks of non-contact practice to recover. When he will return is uncertain, but Alexander is confident that this is not a season-ending injury for him.
In seven games this season, Alexander has 16 tackles with two interceptions and one sack. He returned one of those interceptions for a touchdown in Week 3 against the Tennessee Titans.
Alexander has missed 27 games over the last four seasons due to injury. A shoulder injury cost him 13 games in 2021 and he missed one game in 2022 with a groin injury. He was out for three games last season with a back injury.