The Green Bay Packers have placed cornerback Jaire Alexander on the reserve/suspended list for “conduct detrimental to the team” regarding his participation in Sunday’s pregame coin toss during their 33-30 win over the Carolina Panthers.
“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,” said Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst. “As an organization, we have an expectation that everyone puts the team first. While we are disappointed, 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.”
Alexander will miss Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, the team the 7-8 Packers are currently tied with in the NFC North.
Ahead of last Sunday’s coin toss, Alexander joined the Packers’ three game captains — Aaron Jones, Quay Walker and Eric Wilson — at midfield and called tails, winning the toss. The cornerback then told referee Alex Kemp he wanted to be on defense. Kemp clarified by asking if he meant defer, to which Alexander said yes.
“I said, ‘I want our defense to be out there,’ and they all looked at me like I was crazy,” Alexander said afterward. “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.'”
When a team wins the coin toss, it’s usually seen as them choosing to kick or return to open the game, with the understanding that the second half will open the opposite way. Then the other team chooses what side of the field they will take.
It’s actually a bit more complicated than that. Instead of kicking or returning, teams are actually deciding when they want the choice to kick or return to open a half. When one team says “We’ll receive,” that’s fine; they’re just…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/packers-suspend-jaire-alexander-after-nearly-mixing-up-coin-toss-182028434.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2023-12-27 18:20:28
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