Green Bay Packers add immediate help in the secondary

The Green Bay Packers are getting some secondary help after Jaire Alexander’s shoulder injury. Today, they signed veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas.

“The Packers have signed CB Rasul Douglas off the #Cardinals’ practice squad,” tweeted Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal. “He played three years in Philadelphia and one year in Carolina, appearing in 60 games with 29 starts. He’s 6-2, 209 pounds.”

Originally, Douglas was drafted in the third round out of West Virginia. While he hasn’t been able to live up to his potential thus far, perhaps a new start in Green Bay could be good for him.

In addition to Alexander, cornerback Kevin King has been battling a concussion. Other cornerbacks on the roster include rookie Eric Stokes, and veterans Isaac Yiadom and Chandon Sullivan.

Many believed the Packers were the front-runners for Stephon Gilmore when it was announced he would be released. However, those dreams were crushed when the Carolina Panthers struck a trade for the former Patriots cornerback.

Evidently, Douglas was the pivot the Packers made following the news. There’s no rest for the weary though, as Douglas joins the Packers as they play the Cincinnati Bengals.

This season, the Bengals have had an impressive receiving corps led by rookie Ja’Marr Chase. In addition, they have talented wide receivers Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd as options.

LaFluer: ‘We’re kind of in a holding pattern until we find out what’s really wrong with Ja.’

The Green Bay Packers and head coach Matt LaFleur are still waiting for more information to determine the status of star cornerback Jaire Alexander. Alexander sustained a shoulder injury in the Packers’ win over the Steelers.

“We’re kind of in a holding pattern until we find out what’s really wrong with Ja,” LaFleur said on Monday. “They’re getting some other opinions on how to proceed. Right now, we’ve got a few of our stud players on the bench due to injury.”

According to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Alexander suffered an AC joint injury in his shoulder. More tests are coming this week to confirm the severity of the injury and establish a potential timeline.

An AC joint sprain can take up to six weeks to completely heal. Should Alexander’s injury turn out to be more severe and require surgery, his season could be done.

The injury occurred on a fourth-down stop. Steelers running back Najee Harris caught a pass from Ben Roethlisberger just short of the first-down line. The former first-rounder did not record any stats in the game.

The Packers held Roethlisberger to just 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Many of those yards came late on a touchdown drive following the departure of Alexander.

Jaire Alexander had 13 tackles and an interception over the first four weeks of the season.

With Alexander out, rookie cornerback Eric Stokes shined on Sunday. The first-round pick out of Georgia recorded his first interception. He now has 12 tackles (eight solo), six pass breakups and a pick.