Green Bay Packers fans know all about the good and the bad that come with having veteran cornerback Jaire Alexander on their favorite team's roster. While there are certainly high points along the way, the frustrations from the lows can quickly outweigh any positives he brings to the table.
The sheer unpredictability of when, and for how long, Alexander is healthy makes life as a defensive coordinator difficult. As we saw in Green Bay, this ultimately drove a front office to throw its hands in the air and accept that the juice isn't worth the squeeze anymore.
Jaire Alexander's Unpredictable Availability Already Present in Baltimore
That unpredictable availability was on display on Wednesday in Baltimore. Out of the blue, Alexander showed up ready to practice for the first time in nearly a month with just a handful of days between now and the Ravens' regular season opener.
After having his knee drained in July, Alexander missed the bulk of training camp and the preseason. Wednesday afternoon, though, he returned to the field. This falls in line with comments made by John Harbaugh at the beginning of the week, which pinpointed Wednesday as the date they'd know whether the cornerback could return to the practice field.
With Alexander's status for Baltimore's Week 1 showdown against the Buffalo Bills anything but certain, Packers fans can smile knowing that another franchise is now having to deal with all of the headaches Alexander's inconsistent availability caused during his tenure in Green Bay.
This isn't the Packers' problem anymore, though. In fact, rather than dealing with the uncertainty that seems to follow Alexander everywhere he goes, Green Bay received some positive news regarding its own secondary this week as prized offseason acquisition Nate Hobbs has moved closer to getting back on the field.
With 281 combined tackles, 19 passes defended, three interceptions, three QB sacks, and three forced fumbles to his name over the course of his four-year NFL career, Hobbs could be just what the doctor ordered for the Packers' secondary.