Multiple reports suggest Love will start, but Packers’ gameday activations suggest Alexander may not play
As the Minnesota Vikings travel to Green Bay for their Sunday afternoon match up against the Packers, new reporting suggests Jordan Love will return at quarterback for the Packers.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport reports that Love will return to the lineup on Sunday, while local Packers beat reporter Tom Silverstein reports that Love will not only return to the lineup but will also start for the Packers at quarterback. The Packers are also not activating backup quarterback Sean Clifford to the gameday roster, which further suggests Love will at least be active for Sunday’s game and will start per Silverstein.
Looks Like Jaire Alexander May Not Play
While not activating Sean Clifford suggests that Love will be activated, the Packers activating both CBs Kamal Hadden and Robert Rochell suggests that the Packers’ top cornerback, Jaire Alexander, who was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, did not practice on Friday, and is listed as questionable, will not play. Additionally, the Packers’ primary backup cornerback, Carrington Valentine, was listed as doubtful- meaning he’s unlikely to be active on Sunday as well. That would explain the Packers activating two cornerbacks to the gameday roster.
Bottom Line
While Jordan Love is clearly a better quarterback than Malik Willis and can threaten down the field with his arm, it’s unclear how rusty he’ll be after not playing since week one and how comfortable he’ll be with his rehabbed knee. There is some speculation as well that the Packers may use Malik Willis in some sub-packages to take some of the workload off of Love in his first start since spraining his MCL, but that remains to be seen.
The loss of Jaire Alexander, however, as it increasingly looks like he’ll not play on Sunday, may be at least as impactful, and perhaps more so. Without Alexander (and Valentine), the Packers will be weak in their defensive secondary. That’s not a good thing against Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jalen Nailor. The absence of Alexander and Valentine may also force the Packers into more limited coverage schemes as neither Rochell nor Hadden have played a snap yet this season for the Packers. Hadden is a sixth-round rookie and Rochell, a fourth-round pick let go by the Rams after two seasons, has played a total of 33 snaps since 2021.
Stay Tuned.
