The Green Bay Packers have suspended Jaire Alexander for one game for what they called "conduct detrimental to the team."

On Sunday, Alexander anointed himself as one of the Packers' captains -- and then made what Matt LaFleur called "a big mistake" by nearly botching the call after winning the coin toss.

"The decision to suspend a player is never easy and not one we take lightly," 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."

Alexander, who grew up in Charlotte, walked to midfield before the game with the Packers' three game captains -- Aaron Jones, Quay Walker and Eric Wilson. The Packers did not elect season-long captains this year, instead using a weekly rotation.

Alexander called tails and won the toss. He then said the Packers wanted to be on defense, which is not the same as choosing to defer their choice to the second half. Referee Alex Kemp could have taken Alexander's call to mean they wanted to kick off, which then would have allowed Carolina to receive the ball to start both halves. However, because LaFleur, in the pregame meeting with the officials, informed Kemp that the Packers would defer if they won the toss, Kemp clarified that Alexander wanted to defer.

"That was a big mistake," LaFleur said after the game of Alexander's call. "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.' 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."

The NFL has upheld Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee's regular-season suspension after hearing his appeal.

If the Steelers (7-7) make the playoffs, though, the safety would be eligible to rejoin the active roster.

Kazee was suspended without pay for the final three regular-season games after a hard hit on Michael Pittman, Jr. that landed the Indianapolis Colts wide receiver in the concussion protocol. 

The NFL announced Monday that Kazee was suspended for repeated violation of rules meant to protect the health and safety of players.

Kazee had previously been fined five times this season for unnecessary roughness, and his status as a repeat offender factored into the decision to levy the harsh punishment. He will lose roughly $208,000 in salary.