Tag: Keisean Nixon

Returns in free agency helped raise the floor at CB for Packers

Free agency helped raise the floor of the cornerback position for the Packers, giving them some flexibility heading into the draft.

Cornerback remains a need that should be on GM Brian Gutekunst’s radar during the NFL Draft, but how the Packers went about free agency at this position did help raise the floor of this group.

Before free agency, the depth of this unit was a fairly big concern. After Jaire Alexander, Carrington Valentine, and Eric Stokes, the only players on the roster were Zyon Gilbert and Anthony Johnson–two practice squad players from 2023.

However, during free agency, the Packers would re-sign Keisean Nixon, Corey Ballentine and Robert Rochell.

The return of Nixon gives the defense a starting nickel cornerback that they can rely on. Before Nixon was re-signed, the Packers didn’t have an obvious slot cornerback on the roster, with Alexander, Valentine, and Stokes all being boundary cornerbacks throughout their careers, making that a major need that would have to be addressed.

Every NFL GM wants flexibility going into the NFL Draft, to be able to let the board dictate their actions, rather than feeling like they have to take a specific position early on. Had the Packers not re-signed Nixon or at least added a starting-caliber nickel in free agency, drafting a slot cornerback early on would have been a near must.

Last season, in his first full season as a defensive starter, Nixon held opponents to under 10 yards per catch and forced five pass breakups with one interception. Nixon was also a willing run defender and found some success as a blitzer late in the season.

“The nickel position has become more and more important in our league,” Brian Gutekunst said. “Having a guy who can do multiple things, not only cover but be an instinctual guy that can take the ball and also play against the run just because of how much those guys are involved. That position in particular has become more and more valuable…Keisean really fit us, not only as a player but in the locker room as well.”

Ballentine, meanwhile, provides some needed experienced depth. Due to injuries, Ballentine was called upon often last season, playing 534 snaps. He was very capable of helping out against the run and able to challenge and limit pass-catchers.

Very quickly, and that’s the purpose of free agency, the Packers’ cornerback room is in much better overall shape with Nixon and Ballentine back in the mix.

However, that also doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t address the position in the draft either. There are still some unknowns around what is one of the more important positions in the game.

Stokes missed most of the 2023 season and before his injury in 2022, he was having a down year. I’m not sure anyone truly knows what to expect from him when he’s back on the field. The hope is that Valentine takes that Year 2 leap, but that is never a given either.

Although Nixon is back manning the slot, that is an upgradeable position for the Packers, and the draft will present them with options to do so. Michigan’s Mike Sainristil, Florida State’s Jarrian Jones, and even Iowa’s Cooper DeJean could be moved inside.

Long-term depth should always be a point of emphasis for teams in the draft, and looking beyond 2024, there are, again, some question marks around that for the Packers. Ballentine is only signed to a one-year deal, while this is the final year of Stokes’ rookie deal.

The good news for the Packers is that this is a very good cornerback class. In Daniel Jeremiah’s most recent top 50 prospects big board, seven cornerbacks were listed–the second-most among all position groups. On top of that, with five picks in the top 100 and 11 selections in total, Gutekunst will have the opportunity to address this need.

With how the cornerback room is currently constructed, adding to it isn’t an absolute in the draft by any means, but at a premier position, it would be a prudent move to make.

Jeff Hafley excited to have Keisean Nixon back as Packers slot CB

Re-signing Keisean Nixon was a “high priority” for Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, and new DC Jeff Hafley sees Nixon as a good fit at slot CB.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is excited to finally have “stability” at slot cornerback after re-signing Keisean Nixon, who played 809 snaps on defense and was the team’s starter in the slot from start to finish in 2023.

Gutekunst said re-signing Nixon was a “high priority” this offseason and also confirmed that new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley sees Nixon as a fit in his scheme.

“We’re excited about what (Nixon) can do for our defense. I think bringing in Jeff Hafley and give him some time to really study Keisean and make sure that that was a fit was important,” Gutekunst said. “He’s very excited to have him back as well.”

Nixon, who signed a three-year deal to return, produced 80 tackles, six passes defenses, one interception and three tackles for loss over 17 regular season games in 2023. He opened training camp as the starting slot and never gave up the spot in the Packers secondary. And Gutekunst believes Nixon will improve in Year 2 as the starter.

“He did such a good job for us in his first year as a starting nickel, playing that many snaps on defense. We certainly think his best football is ahead of him,” Gutekunst said.

Nixon’s return and the signing of Xavier McKinney should lock in at least three starting spots in the secondary: Nixon in the slot, McKinney as the “post” safety” and Jaire Alexander on the perimeter. Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine are options opposite Alexander, and the Packers will likely draft at least one corner and one safety.

Gutekunst also expects adding competition in the slot, even if he brought back Nixon to be the anticipated starter in 2024 and likely beyond. The position — which is basically a starting spot in today’s nickel-heavy NFL — is increasingly valuable on every down.

“The nickel position has become more and more important in our league,” Gutekunst said. “Having a guy who can do multiple things, not only cover but be an instinctual guy that can take the ball and also play against the run just because of how much those guys are involved. That position in particular has become more and more valuable…Keisean really fit us, not only as a player but in the locker room as well.”

New contract details for Packers CB/KR Keisean Nixon

The Packers gave Keisean Nixon a $6.5 million signing bonus in his three-year, $18 million deal.

New contract details are in for Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon. According to Over the Cap and Ken Ingalls, Nixon’s deal includes a $6.5 million signing bonus, a roster bonus of $2.8 million in 2025 and a 2024 cap number of under $4 million.

Nixon’s deal pays out $8.8 million in 2024 and $18 million over the three years. The only guaranteed money is the $6.5 million signing bonus. The Packers included $200,000 in annual workout bonuses and $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses.

The Packers are paying Nixon — a first-team All-Pro at kickoff returner in 2022 and 2023 and the defense’s starter in the slot in 2023 — as an expected starter and impact special teamer for 2024 and beyond. He turns 27 in June and is now under contract through his age 29 season.

Nixon’s cap number will be $3.99 million in 2024 and never rises above $7.2 million.

Here are the numbers and structure, via Over the Cap and Ingalls:

Year Base Signing Roster Per game Workout Cap number
2024 $1,125,000 $2,166,666 $500,000 $200,000 $3,991,666
2025 $1,170,000 $2,166,666 $2,805,000 $500,000 $200,000 $6,841,666
2026 $4,300,000 $2,166,666 $500,000 $200,000 $7,166,668
Total $6,595,000 $6,500,000 $2,805,000 $1,500,000 $600,000 $18,000,000

In terms of money paid out in 2024, Nixon currently ranks 23rd among cornerbacks. Even if he doesn’t play out the final year of the deal, Nixon will make $13 million across the first two years of the contract.

Nixon led the NFL in kickoff returns and kickoff return yardage in each of the last two seasons, and he played over 800 snaps on defense across 17 games in 2023.

New team but familiar faces for Packers RB Josh Jacobs

Running back Josh Jacobs will be joining a new team in the Packers but there were several familiar faces welcoming him to Green Bay.

New Green Bay Packers’ running back Josh Jacobs has spent his first five NFL seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. But despite being on a new team and having just arrived in Green Bay, there were two familiar faces, Rich Bisaccia and Keisean Nixon, waiting to greet him.

Bisaccia and Jacobs would spend three seasons together in Las Vegas. Bisaccia joined the Raiders in 2018 as the special teams coordinator and assistant head coach before becoming the interim head coach for the latter portion of the 2021 season. Jacobs was then drafted during the 2019 offseason.

During their time together in Las Vegas, Bisaccia and Jacobs developed a close relationship that had a tremendous impact on Jacobs. So much so, in fact, that Bisaccia being in Green Bay was an important factor in Jacobs’ decision to join the team.

“Man, Coach Bisaccia,” said Jacobs with a smile, “I’m not going to lie. He was one of the main reasons I wanted to come here too, just knowing he was already here and dealing with him in the past.

“We’ve always had a tight relationship, and that year he was head coach, we had a lot of real conversations. We sat down, we talked about life and everything. To be around him and that energy he has every day, I think it’s going to be fun.”

Nixon, meanwhile, also spent his first three NFL seasons, from 2019 to 2021, with the Raiders, all of which overlapped with Jacobs’ time there as well, where the two formed a strong bond.

Both Nixon and Jacobs have stayed in touch over the last two years while they’ve been on different teams. If Bisaccia played an important role in Jacobs’ decision to come to Green Bay, then the conversations that Jacobs and Nixon have had since he joined the team have solidified that it was the right decision.

”We’ve talked a lot,” said Jacobs about his relationship with Nixon. “We’ve talked a lot. Like I said, he’s one of them guys that I always keep up with him too. Coming in, Keisean is very charismatic. He’s a charismatic guy.

“But man, we were talking last night about this place, and he told me how much it reminded him about college ball and how much there’s just a real genuine love for football and what you do on a day-to-day basis. And he kind of sold me, I’m like yeah, he got me ready to play. But man, good dude.”

In addition to Bisaccia and Nixon, while Jacobs’ and Xavier McKinney’s decisions to sign with the Packers were independent of each other, each has a familiar face in one another to lean on as they acclimate to their new team and city. Both played at Alabama during the 2017 and 2018 seasons under Nick Saban.

Whether you’re an NFL football player or starting a new job of your own, joining a new team where there is already an existing relationship or two certainly helps with the transition and can make one feel at home a bit sooner.

In addition to joining a new team, which means getting accustomed to a new playbook and new play calls, along with being in a new city, there is the Green Bay climate – the winters – that will be a bit new for Jacobs as well.

Jacobs is from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He played his college ball at Alabama and has spent his first five NFL seasons in Las Vegas. Of course, there have been away games played in the cold, but by and large, his home base has not been where the temperatures can be frigid.

While it will be different, as a running back, Jacobs is looking forward to playing in the cold because it will make him more difficult to tackle–a feat that has already proven to be challenging for opponents. During his All-Pro season in 2022, Jacobs led the NFL in missed tackles forced and ranked 11th in average yards after contact.

“Oh, as a running back,” said Jacobs, “you love playing in the cold because people don’t want to hit you. Then after a while you start to wear on them, and it makes it a lot easier. I think if I was (I think he said “another player”), I might be like, uhhhhh, but as a running back I love it.”

Packers re-signing CB/KR Keisean Nixon on 3-year deal

The Packers are re-signing CB and KR Keisean Nixon on a three-year deal.

The Green Bay Packers are re-signing cornerback and kickoff returner Keisean Nixon on a three-year deal worth $18 million, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Nixon, who turns 27 in June, started in the slot for the Packers last season and earned first-team All-Pro honors as a kickoff returner for the second consecutive season.

Over 17 games in 2023, Nixon produced 80 tackles, one interception, six passes defensed and three tackles for loss. His lone interception came in the second half of the Packers’ win over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in December.

Nixon was heavily targeted in the slot. He gave up 65 catches on 84 targets for 626 yards into his coverage from the slot last season, per PFF. Nixon also missed 15 tackles. He must get better, but the Packers and new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley clearly like his potential in the slot.

Nixon’s value as a kickoff returner is also undeniable.

Over the last two seasons, Nixon has 65 kickoffs for 1,791 yards and one touchdown. He led the NFL in kickoff returns and kickoff return yardage in both 2022 and 2023, and his 105-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the longest kickoff return in the NFL in 2022.

Nixon becomes the second Packers free agent to re-sign, joining tight end Tyler Davis.

Packers want to keep free agents Keisean Nixon, Eric Wilson and Tyler Davis

The Packers want to keep at least three of their own free agents, per new reporting from Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Green Bay Packers would like to keep free agents Keisean Nixon, Eric Wilson and Tyler Davis, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

All three veterans have expiring contracts and will become unrestricted free agents come the start of the new league year on Wednesday.

Nixon is a two-time first-team All-Pro kickoff returner and was the team’s starter at nickel cornerback in 2023.

Wilson has been a core special teams player for Rich Bisaccia in each of the last two seasons. He played over 500 total special teams snaps across the last 30 games in Green Bay and led the team in special teams tackles between 2022 and 2023.

Davis was a core special teamer in 2022 and looked primed for another big role in 2023 before suffering a season-ending knee injury during the preseason.

All three players returned on the Packers on one-year deals before the 2023 season.

Other unrestricted free agents for the Packers include safety Darnell Savage, safety Rudy Ford, offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr., running back A.J. Dillon, safety Jonathan Owens, offensive tackle Yosh Nijman, linebacker Kristian Welch, cornerback Corey Ballentine and tight end Josiah Deguara.

The start of the new league year is 3:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday. The legal tampering period — when upcoming unrestricted free agents can begin negotiating with other teams — begins on Monday at noon.

1 pending free agent the Colts could target from each NFC team

Taking a look at one pending free agent for the Colts from each NFC team.

With free agency right around the corner, the Indianapolis Colts have the chance to make some key additions to a roster that already has some promise.

Working with some of the most salary-cap space in the NFL this offseason, general manager Chris Ballard and the front office can continue to add pieces to the defensive side of the ball while improving the supporting cast for quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Re-signing some of their own players like Michael Pittman Jr., Grover Stewart and Kenny Moore II will be key. But they also could look around the conference to bring in some outside talent.

We know Ballard isn’t one to make huge splashes in free agency, but they are still going to be an active team even if it means simply adding depth.

Here’s a look at one pending free agent from each NFC team that should interest the Colts:

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent cornerbacks

Top cornerbacks entering free agency in the 2024 offseason

The Carolina Panthers have lacked cornerback depth for a few seasons now. Will this be the offseason where they finally address it?

Here are the top 12 free-agent cornerbacks of 2024:

10 CBs the Colts should target in free agency

Taking a look at free-agent CB options for the Colts.

There is some potential in the cornerback group for the Indianapolis Colts but it’s the same old offseason story of a position group with promise that should add a veteran in case they don’t live up to the billing.

General manager Chris Ballard has taken his chances in this scenario in the past and it hasn’t always worked out for him. If he wants to stabilize the group, then a top-tier corner should be pursued heavily.

If he can’t land one, then a veteran to push the younger corners has to be considered. Ballard also has to keep an eye on nickel corners if he doesn’t re-sign Kenny Moore II and could use one for depth even if he is back for the 2024 season.

We should note that we understand a handful of these players won’t even hit the market, but we’re working under the hypothetical scenario that they become available, regardless of how slim the chances are.

If Chris Ballard decides to add to the position group via free agency, here are 10 players that the front office should target:

Packers could save over $5M on 2024 salary cap with pre-void extensions for Keisean Nixon and Darnell Savage

Darnell Savage and Keisean Nixon both have voiding contracts with dead cap hits coming. Extending their contracts in February could save the Packers money in 2024, however.

The harsh reality of void years: Even if soon-to-be free agents Darnell Savage and Keisean Nixon sign elsewhere this offseason, the Green Bay Packers will still count roughly $7 million on the 2024 salary cap for the two players due to accelerated bonus money on voided contracts.

There is an out for the team, however. The Packers can extend the contracts of Savage or Nixon or both and actually save money on the salary cap in 2024. Per Over the Cap, the combined possible savings from extending Savage and Nixon before their contracts void is roughly $5 million, making early extensions a realistic possibility if the Packers want to keep both players for 2024.

Savage dealt with a few injuries but otherwise enjoyed a bounce back season in 2023. With Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens both headed to free agency, the Packers will likely need to pick at least one veteran safety to return — and Savage, a 2019 first-round pick, is an option.

The Packers tacked on four void years to Savage’s fifth-year option to lower his cap hit in 2023. The bill will come due in the form of a dead cap hit if his deal voids in February, but an extension would stop the acceleration and create upwards of $4 million in savings in 2024.

Nixon started every game in the slot and was an All-Pro kickoff returner for the second straight year. It’s unclear how the Packers view him as a long-term option in the slot — and the next defensive coordinator might want an upgrade — but Nixon is a dynamic returner who could be an excellent dime corner.

Nixon returned to Green Bay on a one-year deal in 2023 that included four void years. His deal voids Feb. 19, per OTC. When it does, nearly $1.5 million will accelerate onto the Packers’ 2024 salary cap. Like Savage, an extension before the void stops the acceleration.

The other extension candidate is offensive tackle Yosh Nijman, who returned on a restricted tender that included void years in 2023. Considering he was nothing more than a swing tackle this past season, Nijman and the Packers may decide to part ways. Green Bay has roughly $1.9 million in potential savings in an extension for Nijman. This turns into a dead cap hit if Nijman’s deal voids.

It’s worth noting that the Packers have never gotten a pre-void extension done despite adding void years to numerous contracts over the past few seasons. The team did bring back linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and tight end Robert Tonyan after their deals voided but missed out on the potential savings of extending the deal before the void.