GREEN BAY, Wis. — Keisean Nixon’s mouth watered upon hearing about the NFL’s proposed kickoff change earlier this year.
“lol Go Ahead And Approve That KR Rule And Ima Go Back to Back to Back….,” Nixon tweeted on March 20, referring to his bid for three consecutive first-team All-Pro nods after making it at kick returner in 2022 and 2023.
The intention of the rule was to incentivize more kick returns while improving player safety. Touchbacks would give offenses possession at their own 30-yard line instead of the 25, and kick coverage units would have 25 less yards of a running start while not being allowed to move until the returner touches the ball, thus reducing collision speeds.
Across the league, the rule change is having the intended effect. Through four weeks last season, there were 112 kick returns. Through four weeks this season, there were 187.
If you only watch the Packers, though, you’d think the opposite. The Packers ranked second in the NFL through four weeks last season with 10 kick returns and finished the season first in the league with 31. Through four weeks in 2024, the Packers are tied with the Steelers for the fewest kick returns in the NFL (one) and regret even that one.
Not only are teams intentionally kicking away from Nixon, but he is being more conservative when deciding which kicks to take out since the Packers get those extra 5 yards to start a drive. Nixon has stood back for 17 kickoffs and 16 have gone for touchbacks. With 27 seconds remaining against the Eagles in Week 1, Nixon fielded a kickoff 8 yards deep in the end zone much closer to the back-left corner than the middle while leaping to catch the ball and not facing his blockers. He returned it 24 yards to the Packers’ 16-yard line, trailing by five, costing them a pivotal five seconds and 14 yards.
Both head coach Matt LaFleur and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia have shouldered blame for Nixon returning that kick, so it’s clear doing so was a mistake in that situation. In hindsight, the Packers would like to have zero kick returns through four games.
So much for Nixon’s guarantee of going back-to-back-to-back.
“They made it seem like I was gonna get the ball a lot, get returns, but I guess two All-Pros, they ain’t gonna just kick it to me anymore, so that’s what it is,” Nixon told The Athletic on Friday. “I think it’d be more frustrating if I only played return, but I start on defense, so it don’t really bother me that much. I think if I was just a returner, that would probably get on my nerves, but I’m not really tripping.”
Packer fans on this here website are not happy with Rashan Gary.
Diving into that subject here, with comments from DL coach Jason Rebrovich, plus plenty more I’m seeing around the Packers at the season’s quarter mark: https://t.co/NWHYMG98d1
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) October 3, 2024
Nixon has played 205 defensive snaps this season (80.71 percent), primarily at nickel while filling in at outside cornerback more against the Vikings last Sunday with Jaire Alexander and Carrington Valentine sidelined.
The Jets’ Michael Carter II and the Bills’ Taron Johnson are the league’s highest-paid nickel cornerbacks with average annual salaries of $10.25 million. Nixon signed a three-year, $18 million deal this offseason, so his average annual salary of $6 million isn’t quite theirs, but hardly chump change, either.
The Packers surely factored in Nixon’s kick-return prowess when paying him, but he’s only had one opportunity to state his claim for three straight All-Pro first team selections. Starting at the 30-yard line every drive because of him is still worth something, but Nixon was visibly frustrated against the Titans two weeks ago after yet another kickoff sailed into the end zone.
“I’ve tried to teach Keisean that frustration is kind of a wasted emotion,” Bisaccia said. “I think the thing we’re trying to really work hard on are the blocks in front. We’ve had an opportunity now in pads the last three Thursdays to practice kickoff returns in pads and hopefully those guys up front are getting better. And I think Keisean has made really good team decisions back there not to take it out.
“A couple of them have been three (yards) deep or four (yards) deep, where I think in the past, he would’ve probably taken some of those out. He took the kick out (against) Philadelphia because I told him to. That was my fault and I did a bad job with that and we didn’t do a very good job on the blocks. So I think his time will come. I think he’ll keep making really good team decisions back there and we’ll see what happens as the weather changes.”
Nixon, however, isn’t so sure he’ll get more opportunities when the ball firms up and thus doesn’t travel as far when temperatures plummet.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I still think they gonna figure some way to not give me the ball. I mean, it’s really kudos to myself, though, the last two years, the resume I built for myself on that aspect.”
While Nixon’s All-Pro streak appears to be reaching its end, at least for his and the Packers’ sake it’s because of how threatening he is instead of how poorly he’s playing at a position he’s dominated the last two seasons.
We’re not seeing the firework shows he’s put on the last two seasons with returns like his 105-yard house call against the Vikings in 2022, at least not yet, but he’s staying busy elsewhere while biding his time until an opportunity to break one comes.
The Rams have a major red zone problem, despite nearly leading the league in getting there https://t.co/vRvpXBapJL
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) October 3, 2024
Injury report
Hopefully you’re sitting down because this week’s injury report is a doozy, even if defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt (ankle) was the only player ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Rams on the Packers’ game status report released Friday.
Both wide receivers Christian Watson (ankle) and Romeo Doubs (personal matter) are doubtful. Watson’s ankle got caught under Vikings linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill last Sunday on the latter’s interception, but LaFleur said this week that the Packers avoided what looked like a much worse injury at first and that Watson won’t go on injured reserve. Doubs hasn’t been present for the last two practices and LaFleur classified him Friday as day-to-day.
The following players are questionable for Sunday:
- Cornerback Jaire Alexander (groin), who practiced in a limited capacity the last two days after not playing last week
- Left guard Elgton Jenkins (knee), who did the same after missing practice Wednesday
- Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hip), who practiced in a limited capacity Friday after missing Thursday’s practice
- Offensive lineman Jordan Morgan (shoulder), who has missed the last two games but practiced in a limited capacity all three days this week
- Valentine (ankle), who has also missed the last two games but practiced in a limited capacity all three days this week
- Defensive lineman Jonathan Ford (calf), who practiced in a limited capacity each day this week after spending the first four weeks of the season on injured reserve
- Tight end Luke Musgrave (ankle), who didn’t practice this week after suffering the injury against the Vikings last Sunday
Both quarterback Jordan Love (knee) and defensive tackle Kenny Clark (toe) came off the injury report and are good to go.
(Photo: Todd Rosenberg / Getty Images)
