BREAKING NEWS: The Green Bay Packers’ coach was unhappy with the club captain because….
Jaire Alexander, the Packers’ cornerback, almost made a costly error in his return from a six-game hiatus — and it happened before the game against the Panthers even started.
According to ESPN, Alexander appointed himself a game captain by racing onto the field with Aaron Jones, Eric Wilson, and Quay Walker, but after winning the coin toss, he initially stated that the Packers wanted their defense on the field.
According to various accounts, this is not the same as deferring and might have prevented the Packers from receiving the ball to begin either quarter if referee Alex Kemp had not clarified, and Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur branded Alexander’s near-error a “big mistake” 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,'” LaFleur was quoted as saying. “Before the game, I went to the officials and made sure they knew what we were going to do.” We had a similar occurrence earlier this year, so we’re always trying to be proactive in that regard.”
Alexander, who said it was “only fitting” that he joined the Week 16 game captains given his connection to Charlotte, didn’t understand why everyone “looked at me like I was crazy” at the time, though he added that teammates supported his decision to essentially make himself captain.
“I’m like, I mean, it’s pretty simple what I said, like I want the defense to be out there,” Alexander told reporters, according The Athletic. “They like, ‘You mean defer?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I guess.'”
The Packers beat the two-win Panthers, 33-30, on a 32-yard field goal by Anders Carlson with less than 20 seconds remaining.
Alexander, who had missed the previous six games due to a shoulder injury but was never placed on injured reserve, returned to a struggling Packers defense that enabled the Panthers to score 30 points for the first time this season.
Nonetheless, the Packers’ fragile postseason aspirations were kept alive for another week, with their 7-8 record trailing the 8-7 records of the Rams and Seahawks in the final two wild-card slots.
Green Bay will play the Vikings at Minnesota on Sunday before hosting the Bears to finish the season.
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