Packers Injury Report: Jaire Alexander returns to practice

One of the two non-participants in the Green Bay Packers’ Wednesday practice, cornerback Jaire Alexander, returned to the field on Thursday as a limited participant. Alexander, who is currently dealing with a shoulder injury, missed last week’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers — which forced rookie seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine and former practice squadder Corey Ballentine to hold down the outside cornerback position.

When head coach Matt LaFleur was asked what Alexander did in practice today, he replied, “A little bit of [individual drills] and some team work.” He also said that he “found out this morning” that Alexander was going to be healthy enough to suit up for Thursday’s practice, which gives us some perspective on where Alexander’s recovery is at.

Along with Alexander, running back Aaron Jones (hamstring), receiver Christian Watson (shoulder), left guard Elgton Jenkins (knee), defensive lineman Kenny Clark (shoulder) and inside linebacker Quay Walker (groin) were all limited participants today. All of those players were also limited participants yesterday, which, in Walker’s case, is probably a good sign. Walker has missed the last two games with injury and seems to be trending back toward seeing game action.

The only non-participant in practice on Thursday remains safety Rudy Ford, who is out with a biceps injury. For what it’s worth, Ford was able to finish out the game against the Steelers last week and actually recorded 10 tackles in that game. If he doesn’t hit the field on Friday, though, it’s unlikely that he’ll play against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

On the Chargers’ side of the injury report, the big injury to monitor is to receiver Keenan Allen — who is dealing with a shoulder issue. Allen was a non-participant in practice on Wednesday, but was a limited participant on Thursday. Keep an eye on his status tomorrow when the final injury report of the week drops.