If the Green Bay Packers make a big move before roster cuts, it would likely be a trade or release of cornerback Keisean Nixon, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
Demovsky noted that the cornerback room is deep, and it could lead to Nixon being a high-profile move.
“If there is going to be a high-profile move on cutdown day, it would be Nixon,” wrote Demovsky. “Perhaps the Packers will try to trade him or release him.”
This has been an eventful preseason for Nixon. He went from questions of whether he would hold out for a contract to questions of whether he was being punished or pushed for a starting spot. Now, the question is whether he will be on the team in two weeks.
Green Bay Packers Could Trade or Release Keisean Nixon
GettyPackers cornerback Keisean Nixon.
When Nixon signed a three-year extension, he was an exciting return man and slot cornerback. Now, he does not have any return prowess, and the Packers moved him from the slot to the outside last year. Nixon was nearly as good on the outside. However, with Javon Bullard manning the slot role, he is not going back inside.
Entering the summer, there was talk that Nixon would hold out in the last year of his deal. He was being paid as a part-time player, but his outside work made him worthy of starter money.
However, instead, the Packers have thrown free agent Benjamin St-Juste and rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse into the starting competition. St-Juste was expected to push Carrington Valentine, and Cisse was going to be eased in. However, Cisse’s accelerated play has the team debating what role Nixon should have.
Demovsky also has Kamal Hadden and Domani Jackson making the team. If Nixon is traded, Demovsky notes that Jaylin Simpson would be next in line.
Packers Are Souring on Nixon
Nixon had mostly worked with the starting defense, but in recent weeks, Nixon was demoted to the second and third string. He took it as a punishment.
“I guess I’m being punished right now, I guess, I don’t know,” Nixon said. “I don’t really worry about what I’m running in camp, ones or twos. I just keep my process and just compete — for real.”
Head coach Matt LaFleur responded with a quip that everyone is competing for a spot, and therefore all of the players are being punished.
“He loves making a headline, doesn’t he?” LaFleur said. “Yeah, you guys will take it different than me, because the way I look at it is this: Then I guess our whole team is being punished, because everybody’s in competition,” LaFleur said.
However, Nixon has hardly run with the first team since then. Due to his starting experience and team-friendly contract, a team could make a run at Nixon with a trade offer. If the Packers are going to consider an outright release, they would take anything offered their way.
The status of Nixon, as he likely enters his last season in Green Bay, will be interesting to watch in the next couple of weeks. Are they able to unload Nixon?
Packers Could Make ‘High-Profile’ Trade at Roster Cuts