Packers Injury Report: CB Jaire Alexander was a DNP on Thursday

Alexander dropped down to a non-participant after suiting up for limited snaps on Wednesday.

There were two additions to the non-participants list in Green Bay Packers practice on Thursday: outside linebacker Preston Smith and cornerback Jaire Alexander. Smith was added to practice with an illness, while Alexander is dealing with a back injury that dropped him from a limited participant on Wednesday to a non-participant on Thursday. Alexander missed last week’s game against the Denver Broncos with his back injury, after initially popping up on the injury report last Thursday.

If Alexander can’t go, the likely starter at cornerback will be Carrington Valentine — opposite of Rasul Douglas. The team added both Corey Ballentine and Robert Rochell, two former practice squad cornerbacks, to their 53-man roster following the placement of safety Darnell Savage (calf) and cornerback Eric Stokes (hamstring) on injured reserve earlier this week.

Along with Alexander and Smith, tight end Luke Musgrave (ankle) is still a non-participant. Based on how head coach Matt LaFleur spoke about the situation, you can go ahead and assume that Musgrave won’t be playing on Sunday. When LaFleur was asked about Tucker Kraft, the tight end who replaced Musgrave last week following the starter’s injury, LaFleur stated, “He’s going to have to play big for us this week.” The head coach also called Alexander’s situation “day-to-day.”

The limited participants in practice today were running back Aaron Jones (hamstring), tackle Yosh Nijman (knee), guard Elgton Jenkins (knee), center Josh Myers (ankle), defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt (knee) and inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell (ankle). Myers being limited is notable, as he was a non-participant yesterday. Campbell is trending in a positive direction, as he’s been able to suit up for back-to-back practices for the first time since his Week 3 injury against the New Orleans Saints.

On the Minnesota Vikings’ side of the injury report, the only major injury to track for the team is to tight end T.J. Hockenson. The Vikings didn’t practice on Wednesday, which means that the injury report listed an estimation of who would have been able to practice if they actually did practice. On that Wednesday estimation, the Vikings listed Hockenson as a non-participant with a foot injury. On Thursday, Hockenson was limited in Minnesota’s practice.