The Green Bay Packers will be without their All-Pro cornerback for at least three games.
Jaire Alexander was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, the team announced Saturday.
Placing Alexander on short-term IR is an effort to see if his injured shoulder can heal without season-ending surgery. The Packers CB was already ruled out for Sunday's game versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
"We got better clarity with that," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Friday, via the team's website. "We're going to let it heal and see where it's at down the line before making that determination (on surgery).
"We're hopeful it'll heal the right way and he'll be back with us in a matter of weeks."
Alexander injured his right shoulder in third third quarter of last Sunday's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and didn't return. This past week the Packers and Alexander have been consulting with specialists on the severity of his injury. Evidently, the team has decided to wait and see if Alexander's shoulder can heal naturally.
In four games this year, Alexander has one interception, three pass defenses and 13 total tackles coming off his first All-Pro season in 2020. A first-round pick by the Packers in 2018, the 24-year-old had his fifth-year option picked up by the Packers ahead of this season.
Stepping up in Alexander's absence will have to be first-round corner Eric Stokes, who has already won a starting job amid his rookie season. Kevin King, who missed the past two games with a concussion, is a timely return in terms of depth, but Green Bay will be thin at corner with Alexander out. The Packers play at Cincinnati, at Chicago and at home against Washington the next three weeks.
