Packers Must Cut Keisean Nixon After Delusional Comments on Monday
By Joe Summers
The Packers' offseason officially began after falling short to the Eagles in the Wild Card round and the team's brass is now tasked with improving the roster to ensure a deeper playoff run in 2025.
One frustrating player, starting CB Keisean Nixon, could be on the chopping block. After he fumbled the opening kickoff, Nixon was asked about the incident and his response left much to be desired.
Instead of taking responsibility for his mistake, Nixon deflected and even declared that he doesn't want to return kicks moving forward. He has aspirations of being the team's top cornerback, yet these comments will make the Packers' decision to move on from him easy.
Packers CB Keisean Nixon Declares He Doesn't Want to Return Kicks Any Longer
Keisean Nixon after a season with the new kickoff:
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 13, 2025
"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."
"I want to be CB1. CB1 is not doing kick returns. That’s just what it is."
Originally an undrafted free agent, Nixon has carved out a nice career for himself. He led all Packers' corners in snaps and ranked 85th out of 223 qualified players at his position at Pro Football Focus, but it's clearly in Green Bay's best interest for him to be a returner.
Nixon was a First-Team All-Pro in 2022 and 2023, though his comments suggest he's more interested in personal glory than uplifting the team. He's a decent defender but not an excellent one and if he's refusing to return kicks, it's hard to justify a big contract extension.
Keisean Nixon on yesterday’s opening kickoff: “I got the ball back for sure and then it should’ve been targeting.” pic.twitter.com/skeUrTENMh
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 13, 2025
To Nixon's credit, he's improved each year of his career. He had 88 tackles, three sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception this season, so it's understandable that he'd prefer to take on a larger role. Even still, the tone-deaf nature of his words indicates he isn't putting the team first.
The Packers' defense improved but once Jaire Alexander suffered his season-ending injury, the wheels started to fall off. Nixon is a capable cornerback yet is no one's idea of a star and needs to prioritize the things that he's among the NFL's best at.
That means he needs to remain a returner. More importantly though, Nixon needs to avoid these types of selfish outbursts. He's on a three-year contract but the Packers have a potential out in the coming months.
Unless Nixon walks this back, Green Bay should move on and focus on rebuilding the secondary to a championship-caliber unit.
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