Green Bay Packers: Jaire Alexander Injury Sheds Light on Thin CB Room
By Paul Bretl
One of the bigger areas of concern — at least for me — surrounding this Green Bay Packers team entering the season was the cornerback depth—or lack thereof.
As good as Jaire Alexander has become, there were a number of questions marks behind him on the depth chart. The good news is that it looks like the Green Bay Packers have found their CB2 in Eric Stokes, who has allowed a completion rate of 52 percent on 25 targets and just 8.4 yards per catch with an interception and three pass breakups this season.
With the play of Alexander and the emergence of Stokes to start the year, these concerns have largely flown under the radar. However, with Alexander exiting Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh with a shoulder injury, it has shed some light on just how thin the Packers are at an important position.
At this time, we do not know if Alexander will miss any time — or how much — but in terms of healthy cornerbacks, Green Bay has only four on the 53 man roster at this time, with Kevin King having missed the previous two games with a concussion.
Who will step up for the Green Bay Packers if Jaire Alexander does have to miss time?
In addition to a healthy Stokes, the Green Bay Packers are left with Chandon Sullivan in the slot, who has struggled to start the season, allowing 14 completions on 16 targets, and he doesn’t provide much help on the boundary.
Isaac Yiadom, who is on his third NFL team in four seasons, has allowed a career 67.4 percent completion rate at nearly 14 yards per catch and has just one interception to his name, according to PFF ($$).
Shemar Jean-Charles is a rookie fifth-round pick, who took his lumps from the slot during the preseason but played five boundary snaps against the Steelers after Alexander exited the game. There’s upside, but can he be trusted to play a significant amount of meaningful snaps at this point in his career?
Lastly, there is Kabion Ento on the practice squad. A training camp darling, but someone with no NFL experience.
You get where I’m going with this. There is a lot of inexperience or in the cases of King and Yiadom, two players who have been picked on over their careers to varying degrees.
As much flack as King has taken from the fan base, if Alexander is going to miss time, getting him back will be important to the depth of this unit. King has nearly 2,500 career snaps, and there is certainly value in that experience, especially given the current state of the cornerback room.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to explore free agency or the trade market for a veteran presence that could provide some stability. But for the time being, my guess is that Green Bay handles this uncertainly the way that they have in years past–which is by relying on who they have internally to step up.
Losing a player of Alexander’s caliber is never easy and nearly impossible to replace. But as they say in football, it’s the next man up, and someone will need to line up across from Stokes if Alexander is out—however, that’s a big part of the concern as well.