Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander tried to bounce back early from a torn knee ligament, but may have done more bad than good in his brief appearance Sunday against the Chicago Bears.
Alexander told that he tore his posterior cruciate ligament in the Packers' win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 27th. Three weeks later, he tried to play through the injury but lasted only 10 games before exiting Sunday's win at Soldier Field.
Alexander said he felt “something” in his knee and was suspended for the rest of the competition. Now the timetable for his return is uncertain.
The Packers listed Alexander as questionable to play against the Bears after he practiced on a limited basis every day of the week. He completed an on-field training program to test the knee and felt well enough to play. But even Alexander admitted that three weeks of healing wasn't enough and he needed “more time” to fully overcome a PCL injury.
While Alexander – who missed two consecutive training sessions this week – may need several weeks to overcome the injury, he expects to be able to play again this season. It's unclear whether injury reserve – which would require missing at least four games – is an option. The Packers will play seven more regular season games in 2024.
A PCL injury often occurs after landing awkwardly from a jump, as happened to Alexander late in the fourth quarter in the Packers' win at Jacksonville.
Without Alexander for the foreseeable future, the Packers will need Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes as perimeter cornerbacks in Jeff Hafley's defense starting Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
