GREEN BAY, Wis. — If you polled Green Bay Packers fans on the player they dislike most, the most popular answer would surely be cornerback Keisean Nixon.
He’s a fine outside cornerback, but his production doesn’t match his place atop the depth chart, where he sits mainly because two-time All-Pro Jaire Alexander’s knee flamed out in Green Bay.
Nixon, who made two consecutive All-Pro first teams as a kick returner in 2022 and 2023 to start his Packers tenure, signed a three-year, $18 million extension in the 2024 offseason that paid him like the stout nickel cornerback he had also become. Nixon is entering the final season of that deal and has hinted before that he wants a raise after graduating from the nickel. No matter what you think of his play as a No. 1 cornerback — some of the critiques are certainly justified — Nixon is also well within his right to ask for more money, since he’s changed positions and is tied for the 41st-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, according to Over the Cap.
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Asked Thursday after practice whether the Packers have altered his contract, whether the team and his agent are talking and how he’d feel about playing out his current deal, Nixon gave the same answer each time — that he’d leave contract discussions to general manager Brian Gutekunst and Nixon’s agent, Tory Dandy.
“I’m here to play ball,” Nixon said.
Nixon looked far more like a No. 1 cornerback in the first half of last season than the second. Gutekunst lauded Nixon this offseason, but the eighth-year veteran sided Thursday with the more critical assessment of his 2025 play.
“I think it helped a lot,” Nixon said of getting his first season as a full-time outside cornerback under his belt. “Just going over the film and watching the mistakes I made and just some of the dumb penalties that I gave up, just not knowing, understanding the level of it and what it takes. I feel like I had a really strong year to start it, but definitely ready to prove myself again this year.”
Nixon strangely missed the first practice of camp Wednesday with hamstring tightness after not landing on the precamp physically unable to perform list, but he returned Thursday in what looked like a limited capacity. Nixon said Thursday his absence had nothing to do with his contract status.
“I’m straight. A little sore. I’m all right. Feel a lot better,” Nixon said. “I just woke up and my s–t was tight, so I just really wanted a scan, so they told me I had to chill for a day, go get a scan, so I was ready to go today.”
Here’s everything else notable we learned on the second day of Packers camp.
Keisean Nixon made his training camp debut Thursday. (Tork Mason / Imagn Images)
Boxing Bullard
Defensive back Javon Bullard acquired a new hobby this offseason: boxing. He took up the sport to improve his conditioning and hand-eye coordination.
“I’ve grown to love it,” the 2024 second-round pick said. “I think it’s a real skill, but the timing of things, man, is really a beauty to watch.”
How does it relate to football?
Well, the Packers began practice Thursday with their defensive backs diving on a mat while punching the ball out of teammates’ arms. Bullard said the timing has to be perfect to force a fumble, like in boxing to land the perfect punch, because there’s only a split second during which the ball is bare.
“I punched my ass off last year, and I didn’t get nothing out,” Bullard said. “I’m hitting helmets. I’m hitting everything but the ball. It’s really about precision and accuracy … that timing is impeccable. You gotta be right on point.”
Coincidentally, or maybe not, Bullard forced a fumble from wide receiver Skyy Moore during Thursday’s practice. Safety Xavier McKinney recovered the ball, and Bullard celebrated accordingly.
The Packers ranked tied for No. 18 with seven forced fumbles last season, and Bullard, who played about 65 percent of the defensive snaps, didn’t have any.
Golden opportunity
With Romeo Doubs now a New England Patriot and Dontayvion Wicks a Philadelphia Eagle, Matthew Golden probably won’t rank tied for No. 85 among wide receivers in targets, tied for No. 84 in catches and No. 78 in receiving yards again while not scoring a regular-season touchdown. That’s what happened last season after the Packers drafted Golden as their first receiver picked in the first round since 2002.
Golden was active during Thursday’s practice, snatching a great pass from quarterback Jordan Love down the right sideline with sticky hands while Nixon was in coverage, cooking rookie second-round cornerback Brandon Cisse on a stop route near the left sideline for a catch and hauling in a touch pass from Love over the middle for a nice gain.
“With the confidence I got in my hands, if the ball is anywhere close to me, I feel like I can make that catch,” Golden said. “For me, I know I can do a lot of good things. … Whenever my number’s called, I know I’m going to be able to perform, put my best foot forward and just go out there and attack.”
Injury updates
Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper appeared to pull up lame during a special teams drill. Defensive pass game coordinator Bobby Babich criticized Cooper’s rep during a kickoff coverage period before he realized Cooper looked hurt and asked if he was all right. Cooper didn’t appear to respond and was then examined by another staff member. Cooper didn’t return to team drills, with Ty’Ron Hopper and Isaiah McDuffie taking reps alongside Zaire Franklin with the first string.
Left guard Aaron Banks took a load-management day Thursday because of a knee injury after he practiced Wednesday in a limited capacity. Offensive lineman Jager Burton missed practice Thursday after tweaking his hamstring early in Wednesday’s practice. Wide receiver Brenden Rice, the son of Jerry Rice, was a new DNP because of a hamstring injury.
Edge rusher Micah Parsons (knee), tight end Tucker Kraft (knee), cornerback Kamal Hadden (ankle), defensive tackle Jordon Riley (Achilles), running back Chris Brooks (hamstring), defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (knee), tight end Luke Musgrave (neck), long snapper Matt Orzech (calf) and offensive lineman Brant Banks (hamstring) remained sidelined.
Practice notables
1. Nickel Johnathan Baldwin, a 2025 undrafted free agent who played only in the Packers’ meaningless Week 18 game last season, made arguably the play of the day Thursday when he jumped an Isaiah Neyor stick route while in man coverage and reached over the wide receiver’s left shoulder to intercept backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
“It definitely boosts my confidence, but I got to do it again tomorrow,” Baldwin said. “One play don’t define me, so as long as I’m being consistent and stacking days, that’s really all that matters.”
Baldwin got one rep with the starting defense in the slot during 11-on-11s before Bullard reentered after seeming to fix something bothering him with his foot/ankle. If anything, that hints at Baldwin not being too far down the depth chart. He also blew up a screen to running back Damien Martinez by evading the lackluster block attempt of tight end Luke Lachey.
2. The catch of the day probably came from second-year wideout Savion Williams, who somehow held on to a ball behind him from Taylor over the middle while in heavy traffic. In a real game, linebacker Nick Niemann or safety Murvin Kenion III might’ve lit Williams up, but it was still an impressive grab. The Packers have a solidified top three at wide receiver of Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Golden, but Love name-dropped Williams this offseason when asked for a player he wasn’t being asked enough about. He, Bo Melton and Moore figure to fight for those fourth-sixth spots on the depth chart right now.
3. There were a couple of standout plays from the Packers’ run defense Thursday, most notably from edge Barryn Sorrell on a toss right to running back MarShawn Lloyd, defensive tackle Jonathan Ford on a run left by Lloyd and edge Brenton Cox Jr. on Martinez, a play that earned a compliment from defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. There were also a couple of noticeable pass-rush reps — Cooper beating fill-in right tackle Darian Kinnard around the edge, edge Lukas Van Ness pressuring Love after beating left tackle Jordan Morgan, edge Collin Oliver earning a compliment from Gannon after pressuring quarterback Kyron Drones on a rollout, Oliver beating right tackle Travis Glover for a “sack” and undrafted rookie edge Nyjalik Kelly beating second-team left guard John Williams for a “sack” of Taylor.
4. There wasn’t much to ooh and ahh about for the offense Thursday, but Reed took a swing pass for a big gain thanks to a great block on the perimeter by tight end Josh Whyle, who’s the No. 1 tight end with Kraft and Musgrave sidelined. (Kraft said this offseason he didn’t know how the Tennessee Titans could let go of Whyle, who signed with the Packers’ practice squad last August.) Love also had a couple of nice throws, the aforementioned sideline one to Golden and a dart to Watson on the hashes that safety Evan Williams almost intercepted before Watson showcased his much-improved hands to make the catch. It’s sometimes tough to tell from the sideline how successful running plays would be with live tackling, but running back Pierre Strong Jr. looked to rip off a nice cutback run early in practice. Defensive tackle Warren Brinson also fell victim to Love’s hard count and thus had to hit the sideline.
