Packers CB Keisean Nixon Says He Is Being ‘Punished’ Amid Camp Battle for Starting Job
Keisean Nixon is not happy in Green Bay, and he is done pretending otherwise.
The Packers cornerback made the NFC Pro Bowl last year, but coaches have made it clear that his starting job is up for grabs in training camp. On Sunday, Nixon dropped a quote that will echo through Green Bay for the rest of camp.
“I guess I’m being punished right now, I guess, I don’t know,” Nixon told reporters, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. “I don’t really worry about what I’m running in camp, the ones and twos, I just keep my process and compete.”
What Is Actually Going On
Second-round rookie Brandon Cisse has been climbing the depth chart quickly. New addition Benjamin St-Juste is also pushing for reps. Nixon, meanwhile, had a rough preseason opener that did not help his cause.
Nixon played all 17 games last season and racked up 72 total tackles. He is a two-time All-Pro, though those honors were for his kick return work, not his coverage ability. He is a good football player. He is not necessarily a lock-down NFL cornerback, and the Packers seem to have figured that out.
Green Bay’s coaching staff has been methodical about this whole thing. They are not benching Nixon. They are creating competition, which is exactly what a well-run team is supposed to do at every position that has any question mark attached to it.
The Pro Bowl Nod Is Doing Nixon No Favors
Here is the uncomfortable truth. Pro Bowl selections in the current NFL era have almost nothing to do with actual quality of play. Injuries, replacements, and fan voting bloat the roster to the point that a Pro Bowl bid is basically a participation trophy for a guy who plays a full season on a decent team.
Nixon is treating his Pro Bowl nod like a guaranteed starting badge. The Packers are treating it like the extra credit assignment it actually was. That gap in expectations is where his frustration is coming from.
The tone in his quote also matters. “I guess I’m being punished, I guess, I don’t know” is not the confident response of a player secure in his role. It is the response of a guy who suddenly realized his organization is not as sold on him as he thought.
Where This Goes
The Packers do not owe Nixon a starting job. They owe themselves the best 22 players on the field. If Cisse or St-Juste is playing better in camp, they will start. That is how modern NFL rosters work.
Nixon still has a clear path back to relevance in Green Bay. He can lock down the No. 3 corner spot, keep his kick return duties, and turn himself into one of the more valuable role players in the league. That is not a demotion in modern NFL terms. It is a stable, well-compensated career.
The problem is Nixon does not seem to want that version of his career. He wants his old starting job and the recognition that came with it. Green Bay is trying to tell him, gently, that the picture has changed.
Expect this drama to keep building all the way through Week 1. Whichever corner wins the outside job will do it while the loser very publicly says all the right and wrong things about it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
