Keisean Nixon signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers in 2022. He almost immediately regretted it. And he made little effort to hide his disdain. “As everybody knows, I did not want to come here. I hated it here when I first got here. I used to be just kind of miserable, trying to get comfortable, trying to get to know guys,” the defensive back told reporters in the locker room on Wednesday.
Nixon was signed after getting a strong recommendation from Rich Bisaccia, who had coached him on special teams for the (then) Oakland Raiders. Bisaccia had just been hired to resurrect Green Bay’s woeful special teams unit and felt the former undrafted free agent would be a key element in the rebuilding plan.
But having grown up on the urban mean streets of Compton, California, Nixon felt out of place in small, country town Green Bay. His personality didn’t seem to mesh well with his teammates. He felt isolated. Interestingly, the one player on the team that reached out to him was the biggest star on the team. “Aaron (Rodgers) used to always reach out to me and say ‘why are you always so mad and angry?’, and maybe give me a hug. It was like a thing. Our relationship grew. We still talk and communicate all the time. I appreciate him always.”
Listening to Nixon talk paints a far different picture of Rodgers from the self-important, diva image that is often connected to him. “When you come to Green Bay you hear stories about (number) twelve, arrogant, mean, stuff like that. It was never that. I never experienced that with Aaron. It was always good vibes. He always lifted players up. I remember when I was going through a slump early in that year, I wasn’t playing that much, he would just come and say be ready. He would always tell me to keep that dog in me.”
It didn’t take long for Nixon to become the Packers’ best kickoff returner, and though he had enough success to be first team All Pro, he took frequent criticism for bringing kicks out of the end zone, no matter how deep they were. Rodgers recognized his talent, and supported his decisions. “I don’t care what you do with it (kickoffs), just take them out,” Nixon says Rodgers told him. “He installed confidence in me real early, and when I would make a play he would be the first one to come off the sidelines and congratulate me. So I will always appreciate him for sure.”
It’s clear the Green Bay cornerback thinks of Rodgers as a bit of an idol. Which makes it interesting that Nixon must play against him Sunday night when the Packers play the Steelers at Acrisure stadium. The DB room has been studying the play of the 41 year old future Hall of Fame quarterback, and Nixon says he hasn’t lost much. He doesn’t think the Packers will be able to fool Rodgers with disguises or deceptions because he’s seen everything and knows how to handle it.
Nixon and his secondary teammates played against Rodgers in practices of course, and the corner was asked if he picked up any insights or tipoffs about the 21 year veteran. “I’m waiting for that little shoulder shrug,” Nixon replied with a sly smile. “When you see the little shoulder shrug, you know he’s ready to throw the ball,” Keisean said, mimicking the jerking motion with his left arm.
After six games, the overall performance of the Green Bay defense has been disappointing. Most fingers point to the secondary as the problem area. If the pass rush doesn’t get immediate pressure on the quarterback, the back end has struggled mightily to cover. This has enabled reserve quarterbacks such as Joe Flacco and Jacoby Brissett to roll up bigger numbers than one would anticipate, and create close games, and even one loss, against teams the Packers were expected to beat handily. Nixon has heard the criticism. “I think people need to stop studying the outcome of things and understand football, a lot of stuff being zones and holes. When we play man to man we don’t really give up that much. We hear the chatter and stuff like that, but we’re confident in what we do. We don’t give up big plays a lot...I think from a cornerback, safety and DBs standpoint, we’re ready to go.”
They had better be. Rodgers comes into Sunday’s night game ranked just 25th in the league in passing yards, but he is tied for fourth in touchdown passes (14), and is coming off a four touchdown performance in a shootout loss to the Bengals, a game in which his QB rating was 103.7.
Keisean Nixon thinks of Aaron Rodgers as an idol and a friend. But Sunday night he will be the motivated opponent. Green Bay is the only NFL team Rodgers has never defeated. The key to the game will be whether Nixon and his secondary teammates give him open targets. Let’s see who has more admiration for whom when the game is over.