The Green Bay Packers still like the progress being made by cornerback Jaire Alexander in his recovery from a shoulder injury, but the All-Pro’s return to the field isn’t imminent.
Coach Matt LaFleur provided a quick update on Alexander on Thursday.
“It’s going good, but it’s still a long way out,” LaFleur said.
Alexander was present but not participating at practice on Wednesday, which suggested he might be inching closer to a return. LaFleur shot down that idea.
“No, Ja has been around, quite a bit. The plan is to continue to strengthen and allow his shoulder to heal. We’ll see where he’s at,” LaFleur said.
Alexander injured his shoulder during a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 3. He’s missed the last five games while on injured reserve.
The Packers passed on a surgical procedure to repair Alexander’s shoulder in an effort to allow healing. Surgery would have ended his season. Last month, LaFleur said he couldn’t rule out surgery still happening, but the team thought the shoulder was “progressing nicely.”
The return of Alexander, a second-team All-Pro in 2020, would be a big boost to an ascending defense that keeps getting better and better under coordinator Joe Barry. Without Alexander, the Packers have played a mixture of Kevin King, Eric Stokes, Chandon Sullivan, Rasul Douglas and Isaac Yiadom at cornerback.
LaFleur also said Thursday that the Packers think there’s a “chance” edge rusher Za’Darius Smith could return this season, but nothing is certain.
“We’ll see where we’re at here in a few weeks,” LaFleur said.
The Packers played three more games before the bye week in early December. It’s possible the team is hoping for a return date sometime next month for both Alexander and Smith.