What did Jaire Alexander do? Packers suspend star corner after coin toss fiasco vs. Panthers

The Packers have suspended star cornerback Jaire Alexander for one game for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

Green Bay is still clinging on to NFL Playoff hopes, sitting one game (and some tiebreakers) back from one of the final two wild card spots in the NFC. If it is going to jump back into the playoff picture in Week 17, it will have to do so without one of its best defensive players against its NFC North rival Vikings on “Monday Night Football.”

Alexander is a two-time All-Pro Second Team corner but he has only appeared in six games this season. He just got back on the field from a six-game absence due to a shoulder injury in Week 16, but his return didn’t come without some controversy.

What did Alexander do to get suspended by the Packers? The Sporting News takes a closer look below.

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Why did the Packers suspend Jaire Alexander?

The organization used the term “conduct detrimental to the team,” but reports have surfaced that the reason Alexander was suspended is because he inserted himself into the Packers’ pregame coin toss against the Panthers last Sunday even though he wasn’t listed as a captain.

“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,” general manager Brian Gutekunst wrote in the Packers’ official release.

“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.”

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Head coach Matt LaFleur was asked if Alexander’s one-game suspension was strictly because of the coin toss incident or an acclimation of things.

“It’s never for one thing. We’ll all learn from it and we’ll all move forward,” he said, according to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.

What did Jaire Alexander do?

Not only did Alexander take it upon himself to join the captains at the coin toss, but he also called the toss and almost incorrectly cost the Packers the ball to start the second half.

Referee Alex Kemp asked for Green Bay’s choice after they won the toss and Alexander said the Packers wanted to be on defense, which is technically different from “deferring” to receive to start the second half. The referee asked Alexander to clarify before making the official ruling but had he not done that, the Panthers would have received the ball to start both halves.

“That was a big mistake,” Head coach LaFleur said of Alexander’s coin toss mishap after the game.

“That’s something that you review with the guys before they go out there every time about, ‘Hey, we win the toss, we’re going to defer.’ I went to the officials before the game, made sure they knew what we were going to do. We had an incident earlier this year where we had a similar situation, so always trying to be proactive in that approach.”

Alexander, on the other hand, said the reason he declared himself as a captain was because he was from Charlotte, playing in his hometown.

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“It’s only suiting. I don’t think coach knew I was from Charlotte,” Alexander told reporters after the game.

Now, because of his actions, the Packers will be without one of their best defensive players for a pivotal game of the season with their playoff hopes on the line.

“It’s unfortunate we’re at that juncture,” LaFleur told the media on Wednesday. “It was a tough decision, especially where we’re at right now. One we don’t take lightly. But there’s standards we’re all held accountable for.”

As is, Green Bay has one of the worst defenses in the NFL ranking 23rd in yards allowed per game and 17th in points allowed per game.