GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers have gone from having what defensive coordinator Joe Barry called a “champagne problem” at cornerback to facing a sudden shortage at the position.
With All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander’s back problems continuing to be an issue — Alexander, who didn’t play last Sunday at Denver, did not practice on Thursday — and 2021 first-round pick Eric Stokes landing on injured reserve after playing just four special-teams snaps against the Broncos, the Packers find themselves in scramble mode heading into this Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field.
Barry had been asked last week leading into the team’s 19-17 loss to the Broncos how he intended to integrate Stokes, who hadn’t played in nearly a year after sustaining a major foot injury in November 2022, with Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Keisean Nixon entrenched as the top three cornerbacks.
“Having a bunch of good players, that’s a good problem. That’s a champagne problem,” Barry had said. “That’ll be exciting when we get to that.”
They may never get to that.
And not only are there questions at cornerback, but fifth-year safety Darnell Savage is also on injured reserve for at least four games with a calf injury he aggravated against the Broncos. Jonathan Owens is set to start in his place against the Vikings.
“It sucks. I’d be lying to you if I (said it didn’t),” Barry said late Thursday afternoon. “It’s frustrating, for all of us. It’s mainly frustrating for the player. Players want to be out there. They want to be active, they want to be involved, they want to be able to go showcase their skills. And when they can’t, it’s devastating for them.
“But, it doesn’t matter. The train’s not stopping. We’ve got to keep moving. … Hopefully those guys get healthy and get back soon, but until they’re back, we’re going to break the huddle with 11 guys and those guys have to go play good football.”
Alexander, who has missed three of the last four games because of his back injury, had practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday but didn’t take part at all on Thursday. Asked if Alexander had experienced a setback, head coach Matt LaFleur replied slightly exasperatedly, “Just day by day.”
Asked if he understood exactly what was wrong with Alexander’s back, LaFleur said, “It’s a back (injury). I really don’t have a lot to say on it. I’m certainly not an expert on backs and don’t want to pretend to be.”
Alexander was briefly in the locker room during the media access period Thursday but did not speak with reporters.
With Alexander out, the Packers started rookie seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine at cornerback opposite Douglas in their base defense against the Broncos. Valentine played all 59 defensive snaps.
If Alexander can’t play against the Vikings, Barry could start Valentine or recent practice-squad call-up Corey Ballentine, who is now on the 53-man roster after shuttling between the active roster and the practice squad over the past season and a half. The team also signed Robert Rochell off of the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad earlier this week.
“With ‘CV,’ as a young guy, the moment wasn’t too big for him (against Denver). I mean, they went after him the first third down of the game, and was right there, they made a heck of a throw and a catch, and he didn’t flinch. He kept fighting back,” Barry said.
“(But) we’ve got no time. The next man (must) step up. And if that’s Ballentine or Valentine or whoever it is, they’re going to get an opportunity to go play and when their number is called … they’ve got to make a play.”
Although the Vikings will be without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who remains on injured reserve with a hamstring injury — “He’s still on IR, right?” Barry quipped — rookie Jordan Addison has emerged.
Addison, the 23rd overall pick in the NFL Draft in April, caught seven passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 10 targets in the Vikings’ 22-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night. He enters Sunday’s game with 29 receptions for 400 yards and six TDs.
So at least the Packers don’t have to face Addison and Jefferson simultaneously, which is nice.
“Justin’s arguably the best receiver in this game. So when you take that away from them, that’s a huge piece. That’s an irreplaceable piece,” Barry said. “It’s a nice problem for us to not have to deal with this time.”
Especially with their own problems to deal with.
“When (No.) 18 is not playing, when you don’t have a guy like him, it makes it much simpler (to defend),” Barry said. “But also on the opposite end, when you lose a player like (Alexander), especially a corner, yeah, it makes it hard, (too).”
