Keisean Nixon proved to be a steal after the Green Bay Packers signed him to a 1-year, $965,000 contract. The Packers must find a way to retain Nixon after he turned in an All-Pro season and leading the NFL in kick return yards and returns of 40+ yards helping reshape the Packers’ special teams unit.
Nixon signed with Green Bay midseason reuniting with Rich Bisaccia who coached him in Las Vegas with the Raiders. Nixon had no experience returning kicks until he was thrusted into that role after the Packers cut former third round pick Amari Rodgers who was very disappointing as the team’s returner.
He helped the Packers go from the 32nd ranked special teams unit to 22nd ranked. That is the highest ranking special teams unit under Matt LaFleur’s tenure. Last offseason Green Bay finally prioritized special teams by hiring Bisaccia. It’s time to prioritize it even more by retaining Nixon who scored the first return touchdown for the Packers since 2011.
Aaron Rodgers also had some praise for the All-Pro returner, “But I always tell Kei now when he’s about to go out there, ‘bring it out,’ just because he brings an extra type of juice to our football team.” With all the previous special teams woes, it was nice to finally have a spark in Nixon. The market shouldn’t be too high for Keisean Nixon as he’s a backup cornerback. There’s no reason to why the Packers shouldn’t be able to retain him.
The Packers have many things to worry about this offseason like the quarterback situation and other impending free agents. Despite that, they shouldn’t let their special teams go back to its old ways. Nixon was able to average 28.8 yards per kick return which ranked in the top three for returners with at least 15 kick returns. He should be towards the top of the Packers to-do list this offseason.
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Javier Delgado is a lifelong Packers fan who is currently majoring in sports journalism at Arizona State University. He writes for PackersTalk.com and you can follow him on twitter at @javierrdelgadoo.
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