Jaire Alexander won the coin toss but lost some coin.
The Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl cornerback has been suspended one game due to his near coin-toss blunder on Sunday.
Alexander, a North Carolina native, designated himself a team captain ahead of the Packers' matchup against the Carolina Panthers. He walked to midfield with his three teammates who had been named captain that week as part of the team's season-long rotation -- Aaron Jones, Quay Walker and Eric Wilson.
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Alexander called tails and won the toss but said the Packers wanted to be on defense instead of correctly saying the team wanted to defer to the second half. The referee could have deemed that Alexander elected to kick off, which would have awarded possession to the Panthers at the start of each half. According to ESPN, since Packers coach Matt LaFleur informed officials in a pregame meeting that the team would defer if they won the toss, referee Alex Kemp clarified that Alexander opted to defer.
The Packers went on to defeat the Panthers 33-30, but the team announced Wednesday that Alexander was suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team."
"The decision to suspend a player is never easy and not one we take lightly," Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in a statement. "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. 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."
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Alexander, who had missed the previous six games while recovering from a shoulder injury, was asked after the game on Sunday why he went to midfield with the captains.
"It's only suiting," he told reporters. "I don't think coach knew I was from Charlotte."
As for his phrasing after winning the coin toss?
"I said, 'I want our defense to be out there,' and they all looked at me like I was crazy," Alexander said. “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.’”
LaFleur told reporters after Sunday's game that Alexander's call was "a big mistake."
"That's something that you review with the guys before they go out there every time about, 'Hey, we win the toss, we're going to defer,'" LaFleur said. "I went to the officials before the game, made sure they knew what we were going to do. We had an incident earlier this year where we had a similar situation, so always trying to be proactive in that approach."
Alexander, who earned his second career Pro Bowl selection last season after recording five interceptions, is the NFL's highest-paid cornerback at $21 million per season. Per ESPN, the bulk of his salary was made in signing and roster bonuses, making his base salary just $1.08 million. Alexander will lose $60,000 in salary and $38,235 in roster bonuses due to the one-game suspension.
He'll miss the Packers' crucial matchup on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings and star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, with the two 7-8 teams hoping to stay in contention for the final NFC wild card.