OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Lamar Jackson wasted little time putting Jaire Alexander to the test during training camp.
“He tried to throw a back-shoulder on me with ‘D-Hop’ (DeAndre Hopkins), so I had to give him a little jazz about that,” Alexander said. “I said, ‘Come on, man. I know it’s my first day, but it’s still me, you know what I mean? It’s still me.’”
Alexander and Jackson go way back — they were teammates at Louisville — and when Alexander joined the Baltimore Ravens this offseason, the two were reunited. The fit made sense with Baltimore looking for some secondary help, and the chance to play with Jackson again sweetened the deal even more.
Alexander suggested Wednesday he probably would have explored more options if Jackson weren’t on the Ravens.
“That’s my boy,” he said. “I want to win with him.”
Alexander is the answer to an interesting trivia question: Who was the first player out of Louisville taken in the 2018 draft? Green Bay picked the defensive back at No. 18 — 14 spots before Baltimore selected Jackson.
It’s safe to say those picks worked out. Alexander spent his first seven seasons with the Packers, starting almost every game he played. But he dealt with injuries to his quadriceps, groin and knee last season and played only seven games. In fact, he’s exceeded seven games only once in the past four seasons.
Green Bay released him with two years left on his contract. When the Ravens picked him up, they posted video of Jackson greeting him.
“I tried to get him on a fade route with D-Hop,” Jackson said after practice Wednesday. “We were out of bounds a little, but he’s still that guy. Jaire’s still that guy.”
The Ravens will obviously hope so.
“We’ve been talking kind of me playing nickel, he’s playing corner and how I play things. So it has been exciting, but what I like the most is just his swag to the game,” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “I think confidence is the biggest key you can have at cornerback, and I think you can never have too much confidence.”
Baltimore’s secondary includes a veteran in Humphrey, plus a trio of recent first-round picks — fourth-year safety standout Kyle Hamilton, second-year cornerback Nate Wiggins and rookie safety Malachi Starks.
“I love the secondary. I love the potential that we have,” Alexander said. “I love watching Marlon play. I love being around him. I thought I was weird, but I don’t know, he might (have) me beat.”
Humphrey was asked about that assertion.
“We do the early morning lift at 6 a.m. It’s about eight of us, and he’s like, ‘Man, I need a speaker right here as loud as can be,’” Humphrey said. “We are not alike in that aspect at 6 a.m., but he’s a cool guy. We’re both, I would say, on a little bit of the strange side, but we’re really jelling well.”
Baltimore lost cornerback Brandon Stephens in the offseason, and safety Ar’Darius Washington went down with a torn Achilles tendon.
Alexander brings plenty of experience to the group and seems to be fitting in — in his own unique way.
“Like I said, he wants music blasting. He said, ‘I need a speaker right here,’” Humphrey said. “I was like, ‘We’ve got them in the ceiling.’ He said, ‘No, I need the boombox right by here, right in my ear,’ and I’m like, ‘All right, that’s different.’”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Noah Trister, The Associated Press
