The Minnesota Vikings will face the Green Bay Packers in must-win game Sunday with the advantage of cornerback Jaire Alexander sitting on the sidelines.

Alexander, who has battled injury much of the year, isn’t out because he’s hurt. Rather, the Packers suspended the cover corner on Wednesday, December 26, for one game due to actions he took ahead of Green Bay’s road game last weekend against the Carolina Panthers, per the Packers official website.

The Packers are about to play Justin Jefferson in a must-win game without the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history because he decided to make himself a captain before a game in his hometown.

A strange season for Jaire Alexander takes its most significant turn yet.

— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) December 27, 2023

“The Packers are about to play Justin Jefferson in a must-win game without the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history because he decided to make himself a captain before a game in his hometown,” Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reported via X. “A strange season for Jaire Alexander takes its most significant turn yet.”

Beyond that, Alexander made a gaffe after calling tails and winning the coin toss that could have swung what ended up a narrow 3-point victory for Green Bay that was crucial to its playoff chances.

The cornerback didn’t “defer,” which in effect means the Panthers receiver the ball in the first half and the Packers get it to begin the third quarter. Instead, he said Green Bay wanted to play defense. Had the official not interpreted Alexander’s incorrect parlance for him, the cornerback could have cost his team the first possession of the second half, which would have allowed Carolina to land on the receiving end of both opening kickoffs.

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

Justin Jefferson, Jaire Alexander Have Constructed Among Top WR/CB Rivalries in NFL

Jefferson has built one of the NFL’s more entertaining and intense rivalries with Alexander over the past few years, which the CB’s absence will deprive fans of on both sides of the NFC North showdown this weekend.

Alexander spent a lot of time chirping after the Packers bested the Vikings on New Year’s Day in Week 17 of last season. Jefferson didn’t play well that game, catching just one pass for 15 yards. Alexander also taunted the wideout after breaking up a pass intended for him by hitting “The Griddy,” Jefferson’s signature touchdown celebration.

Jaire Alexander really hit the Griddy on Justin Jefferson after locking him up 🤣

(via @CBSSports)pic.twitter.com/j6vpD9oTdm

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 1, 2023

“That was fun. I said all week [Jefferson’s past performance against me] was a fluke,” Alexander later said in August. “So when he came into Lambeau, he thought he was gonna come in there griddying, but I was the one griddying. That’s all it was. It was just fun.”

Jefferson dismissed Alexander’s taunting and comments shortly after with public comments of his own.

“It’s just him talking at the end of the day. Nobody is really worried about him,” Jefferson said on August 15. “If you really see the ‘mic’d up’ and everything, they had they intentions to really take me out of the game. Everything about that day was to take me out the game, to not let me catch a ball, to do things to really take me out my game.”

“You can’t call a 180-yarder a fluke, that’s something that’s not a fluke,” Jefferson continued. “You can’t just walk upon 180 yards in the NFL, especially being one of the top players.”

Vikings Will Be Without TJ Hockenson, Possibly Down Jordan Addison vs. Packers

By taking himself out Sunday’s game, Alexander has helped even the scales in a game both teams must win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Tight end TJ Hockenson sustained ACL and MCL injuries against the Detroit Lions last weekend and is out for the year. Rookie receiver Jordan Addison is also day-to-day due to an ankle sprain he suffered during the same game.

Losing their second- and third-best pass-catchers figured to make a win on New Year’s Eve that much more difficult for the Vikings. However, now that Alexander is out and the Packers are down their best cover cornerback, Minnesota has gained back an advantage ahead of the must-win contest.