Packers Free Agents Stay or Go: Keisean Nixon

Should the Green Bay Packers re-sign Keisean Nixon? That seems to be a simple question, as addressed in Part 11 of this series on the Packers’ 2023 free agents.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Mar 4, 2023 9:24 AM EST

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have 14 players who are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents this offseason, including All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon.

Going in alphabetical order, our “Stay or Go” series will look at each of those players in advance of the official start of free agency on March 15. Why should the Packers re-sign Nixon? Why should they let him go? Is there a replacement on the roster? Could they get a compensatory draft pick in exchange?

Packers Should Re-Sign Keisean Nixon

Should the Packers re-sign Keisean Nixon? I don’t know. Would you like to win the lottery? Would you like to eat whatever you want without gaining weight? Would you like to find the fountain of youth.

Duh, duh, duh and duh.

The Packers’ special teams have been a perennial laughingstock. Over the years, whether it was Shawn Slocum or Ron Zook or Shawn Mennenga or Maurice Drayton, Green Bay’s kicking units have ranged from almost mediocre to unbelievably horrible. They’ve given away yards and games.

Enter Nixon, who lit a fuse in everything when the Packers finally cut their losses with mistake-prone and ineffective Amari Rodgers.

Playing for the NFL’s minimum wage of $965,000, Nixon led the NFL with a 28.8-yard average on kickoff returns to become Green Bay’s first All-Pro returner. His five kickoff returns of 50-plus yards led the NFL, including a 93-yarder vs. Miami in Week 16 and a 105-yard touchdown vs. Minnesota in Week 17. His approach to punt returns was unorthodox, to be kind, but he averaged 12.7 yards per runback, so you can't knock the end results.

Packers Should Let Nixon Sign Elsewhere

Well, clearly, the Packers shouldn’t let Nixon sign with another team. Not only was he electric on returns, but he provided credible depth in the slot. The Packers might not have beaten Tampa Bay in Week 3 without Nixon’s play in relief of injured Jaire Alexander. He might not be a 100-percent-of-the-snaps kind of cornerback but you could do a lot worse, too.

It’s all going to come down to money. What do the Packers think is the right price for a kick returner? There are, give or take, 12 possessions per game. That’s only 12 opportunities. With most kickers capable of booting the ball out of the end zone (at least until the weather gets cold) and with the good punters able to play keepaway, how many opportunities will Nixon get to impact a game? And will that number be in line with the contract?

Who Would Replace Nixon?

At this point, Nixon is irreplaceable. Christian Watson was a big-time kickoff returner at North Dakota State and Romeo Doubs was an impact punt returner at Nevada but they also figure to be the top options in a receiver corps that isn’t exactly overflowing with depth.

Really, if Nixon were to leave in free agency, the Packers would be forced to draft a returner and then hope they’re right in the evaluation.

Could the Packers Gain a Compensatory Draft Pick for Nixon?

No question. The level of that compensatory pick is the great unknown. There simply aren’t many comparable players. Nixon was great on returns. Is it because he’s a great returner or was he a lightning-in-a-bottle one-year wonder? Nixon didn’t return kicks at South Carolina and he didn’t return kicks with the Raiders, either.

Nixon has legit speed to get an edge and the strength to run through arm tackles. You would think he will be viewed as a legitimate weapon by the rest of the league. His ability in the slot increases his value to a team.

The Verdict on Keisean Nixon

Assuming the money isn’t crazy, re-signing Nixon should be the easiest decision in the history of decisions. He’s a big-time returner, a quality option in the secondary and an unassuming and popular guy in the locker room.

“We identified him in the middle of [the 2021] season,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the end of the season. “Obviously, none of us knew what kind of returner was going to come out of that and that was a pleasant surprise. When the opportunity came, was just really proud of how he attacked it.”

Given the challenges on offense, the Packers might be relying more on playing field position. Nixon wins that field-position battle.