The Packers have suspended cornerback Jaire Alexander for Sunday’s game against the Vikings after his bizarre actions before last week’s game that almost screwed up the coin toss.
Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced that the Packers made the decision to suspend Alexander. Last week against the Panthers, Alexander went out to midfield for the coin toss even though he hadn’t been announced as one of the team’s captains and promptly screwed up, telling the referee the Packers wanted to be on defense.
“The decision to suspend a player is never easy and not one we take lightly. Unfortunately, Jaire’s actions prior to the game in Carolina led us to take this step,” said Gutekunst. “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.”
The referee allowed the Packers to clarify that Alexander meant to say they deferred until the second half, but if Alexander’s statement had been taken literally, the Packers would have had to kick off to start both halves. Alexander apparently went out to midfield for the coin toss without coach Matt LaFleur’s permission and then took the coin toss upon himself, and the Packers want to make clear that kind of thing isn’t going to be tolerated.