While Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander and receiver Romeo Doubs worked all week, they have been ruled out of Thursday night’s NFC North game against the Detroit Lions.
The Packers will also be without linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) and cornerback Corey Ballentine (knee). They didn’t practice this week.
The Lions have ruled out four starters: left tackle Taylor Decker and defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike, D.J. Reader, and Josh Paschal.
Doubs suffered a concussion in last Sunday’s victory over San Francisco and was sidelined against the Dolphins on Thursday. He practiced all week but has not cleared the concussion protocol as of Tuesday afternoon.
Alexander suffered a knee injury on the final play of the win in Jacksonville. He was inactive for the Lions’ loss at Lambeau Field and attempted to return following the bye against Chicago, but his ailment worsened. Alexander will be out of the lineup for the third week in a row, having played less than half of the defensive snaps this season.
“When they tell me he’s good to go,” Alexander will return, coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday. “Obviously, the player plays a role in that, if he has the confidence to go out there and perform.”
“So, when everything checks out, I think as coaches, we’re not going to send someone out there who we don’t believe can do the job. We make an assessment based on how they see practice and whether or not they can go out there and accomplish the job.
The focus will be on Keisean Nixon, Eric Stokes, Carrington Valentine, and Javon Bullard to shut down Detroit’s explosive passing attack. Nixon, who was the team’s slot defender the previous two seasons, has spent the majority of the season as an every-snap perimeter corner. Stokes and Valentine have shared the other corner spot, while Bullard, a rookie who spent the whole training camp at safety, has manned it.
They will have to deal with quarterback Jared Goff, who is second in the NFL in passer rating, and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is fourth in receptions.
“The first thing I would say to that is earned it, for one, and the second part of that conversation is a change of scenery’s always good for everybody,” defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley said of Nixon on Tuesday.
“When Jeff (Hafley) and I got here, we were both defensive backs. We probed Brian’s (Gutekunst’s) brain about his skill set, and when we went on the field with him in OTAs, I was like, “Yeah.” This guy has some remarkable skills. So we started dabbling in that, and we thought Bull was going to be a terrific player somewhere, and we had a feeling Evan (Williams) could kind of run the show back there (at safety) with X (avier McKinney).
“So, to get our best people on the field, you kind of move those guys around in camp to see who’s your best five, who’s your best six, and he’s done a really good job of investing in himself and learning that position and he’s going to get better every week.”
Cooper, the team’s promising rookie, will sit out his third game in a row. Fortunately for Green Bay, Quay Walker is coming off two outstanding seasons, while Isaiah McDuffie delivered a strong effort against Miami.
Detroit’s lack of three defensive lineman, with defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport on injured reserve, might leave the team vulnerable to the Josh Jacobs-led running attack.
Hutchinson was projected to earn the Defensive Player of the Year until breaking his leg, and Paschal replaced him. Reader had started all eleven games this season, while Onwuzurike had started six and behind only Hutchinson in quarterback hits.
Decker is also a huge loss. He had allowed six sacks, according to Pro Football Focus, but none since the Week 9 loss to Green Bay. Dan Skipper started for Decker against Chicago last week.
Cornerbacks Carlton Davis (knee) and Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring) are not on the injury report and will play Thursday. Davis is the team’s finest cornerback.
“I don’t feel as good about Decker for this week,” Lions coach Dan Campbell stated on Tuesday. “I felt like CD (Davis) looked quite good yesterday, really excellent, so barring anything else in practice today, I’m feeling pretty good. I guess the remainder of this will take a minute. See what today and tomorrow look like.
Green Bay Packers Final Injury Report
Out:
CB Jaire Alexander (knee),
CB Corey Ballentine (knee),
WR Romeo Doubs (concussion),
LB Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring).
Detroit Lions Final Injury Report
Out:
LT Taylor Decker (knee),
DT Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring),
DE Josh Paschal (knee), DT D.J. Reader (shoulder).
