Paul Bretl | 1/13/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — After being named a two-time All-Pro as a kick returner during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Keisean Nixon is ready to focus solely on being a boundary cornerback.
“I don’t know,” said Nixon when asked his thoughts on the new kickoff rule. “I’m kind of over it. I don’t really want to do it no more. There’s going to be talks with the coaching staff and stuff like that, but I think it’s over with for me.”
In 2022, Nixon eclipsed 1,000 kick return yards on the season, averaging 28.8 yards per return with a touchdown. In 2023, Nixon produced similar numbers, totaling 879 kick return yards on three fewer attempts while averaging 27.5 yards per attempt. In both seasons, no returner had more total yards than Nixon did.
However, this year, the dynamic kickoff wasn’t so dynamic for Nixon. After totaling 35 return attempts in 2022 and 32 in 2023, he had just 22 this season. Overall, he was still effective, averaging 28.3 yards per attempt.
“Naw. I’m kind of through with that,” Nixon reiterated when asked about returning kicks.
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This decision by Nixon also comes on the heels of him fumbling the opening kickoff in the Packers’ eventual playoff loss to the Eagles. Nixon was squared up on the return by Eagles’ linebacker Oren Burks, which jarred the ball free, and although it looked like Nixon did initially recover it, that wasn’t what the booth review saw.
The short field off the fumble then set up a quick three-play touchdown drive for Philadelphia, allowing them jump out to a 7-0 lead almost instantly and it again, put Green Bay in an early deficit.
“Hell, yeah, I had the ball. I got the ball back,” Nixon said. “When I was under the pile, they just started pulling my arms a part and then the ball popped back out.”
Defensively, Nixon transitioned from being the Packers’ nickel cornerback in 2023 to playing on the boundary for the majority of this season when Green Bay was healthy in the secondary.
On the year, Nixon allowed a completion rate of 66% on 86 targets and held opponents to just 9.3 yards per catch with six pass breakups and an interception. Among cornerbacks who played at least 375 coverage snaps, only seven had a lower yards per catch allowed than Nixon.
Although, prior to Week 4 of this season, Nixon was known as a nickel cornerback with the Packers, the boundary is where most of his NFL experience came from before arriving in Green Bay. Nixon is comfortable out there and ready to showcase what he can do when he has a full offseason to focus solely on that position, rather than adjust mid-year like he did in 2024.
“I’m just happy that I found an organization that really loves me and cares for me,” Nixon said. “I’m excited just to play outside corner for a whole year and know I’m going to play outside corner. That’s just really what it is. Focus on playing corner and locking up every team’s No. 1 next year.”
The Packers signed Nixon to a three-year deal last offseason, but in general at this position, there are some major unknowns for Green Bay as they enter the offseason. Currently Eric Stokes is set to be a free agent and we don’t know what the future holds for Jaire Alexander.
“I want to be CB1,” Nixon said. “CB1 is not doing kick returns. That’s just what it is.”