INDIANAPOLIS – It sounds like a compromise could be in the works with Keisean Nixon.
When the Packers' season ended, Nixon expressed to the media he wasn't interested in returning kicks anymore with his defensive role expanding as much as it has.
He even hinted at being Green Bay's next No. 1 cornerback, suggesting Jaire Alexander might not be with the team in 2025.
While any or all of that may or may not transpire, Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst isn't entirely on board with pulling a two-time All-Pro off kick-return duty. He commented at the NFL Scouting Combine he still sees Nixon as the team's best at the gig, and he'll want to keep using him, even if the job might not be his exclusively anymore.
"I wouldn't say he doesn't want to," Gutekunst said of Nixon's returning, an indication he may have spoken separately with him about it. "I know he said what he said, but he's pretty good at it and he's gotten a lot of awards because of it.
"I will say this: I'd like to have multiple options there. Obviously, he played a lot of defense for us last year. Was really proud of how he stepped up there. When you play as much as you do out there, you want to be able to protect him a little bit, as well."
So the compromise may be having other returners ready but being able to call on Nixon in certain instances.
However that shakes out, by all accounts Nixon will remain a huge piece of coordinator Jeff Hafley's defense in Green Bay.
After he played primarily slot/nickel corner while earning those All-Pro honors as a returner his first two years with the Packers, Nixon's defensive game expanded to the boundary in 2024 due to a couple of factors – rookie Javon Bullard's emergence as an effective player in the slot, and Alexander's injury issues.
During several of his 15 starts last season, Nixon was the team's No. 1 corner assigned, at times, to match up with the opponent's top wideout. It was a massive challenge he not only accepted but welcomed, and he more than held his own.
"He's an outstanding competitor," Gutekunst said. "Didn't blink when we asked him to do that."
That fits Nixon's bulldog mentality with just about anything he's tasked with doing. There's no backing down. Case in point, his shift from the slot to the outside didn't actually reduce his blitzing much. He's so good at it, Hafley called his number wherever he lined up.
His postseason comment about the returning may have stemmed from how taxing it can be to run back a kickoff right after having been on the field for a long drive that produces an opponent's score.
Or it may have come from the uncalled helmet hit he took on the opening kickoff the playoff loss at Philadelphia that caused a fumble. It was a big-time shot, and while he was medically cleared right away to return to the game, perhaps it was difficult to play defense full-time after that.
Whatever the case, Nixon made the most of the expanded defensive role, setting career highs in a number of categories during the regular season: tackles (88), tackles for loss (8), sacks (3), QB hits (6), passes defensed (7) and forced fumbles (3).
He also had an interception for the third straight season. His last two picks have come against two of the league's premier QBs – Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes in 2023, and Detroit's Jared Goff last year.
His success and growth make it easy to overlook that he's slightly undersized for an outside cornerback at just 5-10, though his 200-pound frame packs plenty of punch.
Smaller stature or not, he's become a mainstay in Green Bay's defense, and whatever his role ultimately becomes in 2025, it'll be a significant one.
"I think he really fit what Jeff was trying to do," Gutekunst said. "His athleticism and his ability to (read QBs) with his eyes and his ability to tackle served us well out there.
"For me, he may not have the length that some of those guys on the outside have, but his awareness and ball skills make up for that."
