Keisean Nixon is coming off a season where he made the Pro Bowl as a cornerback but entering 2026, none of that matters as Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that there is an open competition at cornerback.
Nixon said he does not know why there might be an open competition, even going as far as saying the Packers are “punishing” him right now.
“I guess I’m being punished right now, I guess, I don’t know,” Nixon said Sunday. “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.”
“I don’t see myself in no competition,” Nixon told reporters on Sunday, via Ryan Wood of USA Today. “I’m coming in here to compete for myself. What they do, and what they choose to do, that’s out of my control. I can only control what I can control.
The Packers’ unofficial preseason depth chart lists Nixon as the starter, with Benjamin St-Juste as Nixon’s backup. Nixon started the preseason opener at Pittsburgh, playing 19 snaps.
The Packers have made some big time investments in their secondary, drafting Brandon Cisse with their second-round pick (Pick No. 52). They also signed veteran Benjamin St-Juste in free agency. Cisse has gotten the most work at the cornerback spot opposite Nixon, but St-Juste has also worked with the starters. They also have Carrington Valentine, who started 11 games last season, but he has been slowed by a hamstring injury in camp.
Nixon, undrafted in 2019, enters the final year of a three-year, $18 million contract. He’s due to make $2.66 million in salary and per-game roster bonuses. St-Juste signed a two-year, $9.8 million deal with Green Bay in the offseason.
