Green Bay Packers Suspend Star Cornerback Following Coin-Toss Incident

Jaire Alexander #23 (on left) of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on January 01, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

The Green Bay Packers announced Wednesday that cornerback Jaire Alexander will be suspended for an upcoming game for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

“The decision to suspend a player is never easy and not one we take lightly. Unfortunately, Jaire’s actions prior to the game in Carolina led us to take this step,” the team said in a statement. “As an organization, we have an expectation that everyone puts the team first.”

The suspension means that Mr. Alexander won’t play Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, an NFC North rival. Both the Packers and Vikings are 7-8, and both teams have a chance of making the postseason.

“While we are disappointed,” Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst said in the statement. “We had a good conversation with Jaire this morning and fully expect him to learn from this as we move forward together. We look forward to welcoming him back next week as he is a valued member of this team and will continue to be in the future.”

While the Packers’ statement did not elaborate on the detrimental conduct, there was speculation that it was due to Mr. Alexander after he mixed up the coin toss before the Packers’ game against the Carolina Panthers last Sunday.

Ahead of the coin toss, he joined teammates Eric Wilson, Aaron Jones, and Quay Walker at midfield and called tails. Mr. Alexander then told the referee that he wanted to be on defense before the referee asked if he meant to defer, which he confirmed.

“I said, ‘I want our defense to be out there,’ and they all looked at me like I was crazy,” Mr. Alexander told reporters after the game. “I’m like, I mean, it’s pretty simple what I said, like I want the defense to be out there. They like, ‘You mean defer?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I guess.’”

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Mr. Alexander’s move was a “big mistake.”

“That’s something that you review with the guys before they go out there every time about, ‘Hey, we win the toss, we’re going to defer,’” Mr. LaFleur told reporters after the game, reported ESPN. “I went to the officials before the game, made sure they knew what we were going to do. We had an incident earlier this year where we had a similar situation, so [we’re] always trying to be proactive in that approach.”

According to unconfirmed reports, Mr. Alexander went onto the field for the coin toss without Mr. LaFleur’s permission before calling it himself.

After the Packers’ announcement Wednesday, Mr. Alexander has not publicly responded.

Having played just six games during the 2023-2024 season, Mr. Alexander returned to action on Sunday after missing multiple games with a shoulder injury. He’s currently the highest-paid cornerback in the league, earning about $21 million per year, ESPN reported.

The Packers defeated the Panthers 33-30 on Sunday. Currently, Green Bay sits at a 26 percent chance to make the playoffs, according to Next Gen Stats, while a loss next week to the Vikings would lower the team’s odds to 1 percent, and a win would raise the odds to 57 percent.

Earlier in December, in a separate incident, the NFL suspended Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee for the remainder of the season without pay after a hit targeting Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., landing the player in the league’s concussion protocol. The NFL said that he was suspended for multiple violations of league rules.

“When players violate the rules intended to protect player safety on a repeated basis, and particularly when the violations carry with them a significant risk of injury to an opposing player, it is appropriate to impose substantially greater penalties,” NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to the Steelers safety.