Green Bay Packers: Update on Jaire Alexander’s shoulder injury

Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander was carted off the field with a shoulder injury during the third quarter of a 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. According to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Alexander suffered an AC join injury in his shoulder. More tests will come this week to confirm the severity of the injury and establish a potential timeline.

The injury occurred on a fourth down stop where Steelers running back Najee Harris caught a pass from Ben Roethlisberger just short of the first-down line. Alexander did not record any stats in the game but went through his normal duties as the top cornerback.

The Packers held Roethlisberger to just 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception, with many of those yards coming 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 before suffering the shoulder injury.

More injury news

Green Bay Packers’ linebacker Preston Smith also suffered a shoulder injury early in Sunday’s game.

Through the Packers’ first three games of the year, Smith had nine tackles, five quarterback hits and one sack. Smith is also a frequent contributor to the Packers’ special teams unit. He has appeared in roughly 20 percent of the Packers’ special teams snaps in the first two weeks of the season.

The loss of Smith and Alexander could be pivotal for the Packers’ defense, which already became short-staffed in the early weeks of the 2021 regular season. The Packers already lost two-time Pro Bowl nominee and 2020 second team All-Pro outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith to the injured reserve due to lingering back injuries, leaving them thin at linebacker.

Smith has been with the Packers since 2019. The Stone Mountain, Georgia native rated as low as a two-star recruit by recruiting sites, and he ultimately elected to attend Mississippi State out of high school. While with the Bulldogs, Smith was a first-team All-SEC nominee in his senior season, as he notched 48 total tackles (22 solo stops) including 15 tackles for a loss and nine sacks. That same year, in 2014, Smith had two interceptions — one taken back for a touchdown — and two forced fumbles. He went in the second round with the 38th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Washington Football Team, where he spent the first four years of his career.