Another Strong Mega-Star Commit To Packers….

Five-year veteran cornerback and kick returner Keisean Nixon signed a new contract with the Green Bay Packers. Nixon, a two-time First-Team All-Pro, spent the 2023 season with the Green Bay Packers but has also played for the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders.The #Packers are bringing back their All-Pro returner, signing Keisean Nixon back to a 3-year, $18M deal that can go to $19.2M max. One of their priorities. Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 12, 2024

Keisean Nixon, Green Bay Packers, Agree to Contract

After a breakout 2022, Keisean Nixon signed a one-year contract with the Packers and proved that his fantastic campaign was no fluke. Appearing in all 17 games, the returner finished the season with 30 returns for 782 yards, good for a league-leading 26.1 yards per return. Additionally, he also added 95 yards on 14 punt returns. For the second straight season, Nixon earned First-Team All-Pro honors for his work in the return game.

While the former undrafted free agent made his living on special teams, he also saw an increased role on the defense. Playing 17 games at cornerback, Nixon finished the season with one interception, six passes defended, 0.5 sacks, 80 tackles, and three tackles-for-loss.

Keisean Nixon originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft. Signing with the Oakland Raiders, the South Carolina product spent most of his season riding the bench. Appearing in 14 games, Nixon finished his rookie season with 12 tackles and one pass defended. Interestingly enough, he only returned three kicks throughout the entire season.

The Raiders moved to Vegas in the following offseason, and Nixon came along for the ride. The South Carolina product spent two more seasons with the club but never increased his role on the team. In fact, he didn’t even return a single kick during the 2021 season.

Keisean Nixon finally earned his chance to shine in 2022. Signing with the Green Bay Packers, head coach Matt LaFleur entrusted the former undrafted free agent with returning duties. Nixon was up to the task, earning First-Team All-Pro honors while returning 35 kicks for 1,009 yards and a touchdown while adding 140 yards on 11 punts.

The Green Bay Packers agreed to terms with former NFL rushing champion Josh Jacobs, before releasing running back Aaron Jones, in a pair of moves that drew biting criticism even before free agency even officially gets underway.

“The Packers decided to pay Jacobs approximately $12 million instead of paying Aaron Jones approximately $11 million,” ESPN’s Seth Walder writes. “And that is a trade I would make zero days per week.”

Jones was certainly a known commodity in Green Bay, and in the Packers’ offense, even if he was coming off an injury-riddled 2023 campaign. Meanwhile, Josh Jacobs must also shrug off injury concerns ahead of the 2024 season.

Did Brian Gutekunst Pay for a Josh Jacobs in Decline?

Injury concerns aren’t the reason for Walder’s biting criticism of the Green Bay Packers’ Josh Jacobs signing.

“Jacobs is coming off a disastrous season in which he accrued just 3.5 yards per carry and minus-0.4 yards per carry over expectation, per NFL Next Gen Stats data,” Walder points out. “His total minus-86 rush yards over expectation was the sixth-worst mark by any running back in the league last year. Although part of that can be attributed to the Raiders’ lack of a consistent passing threat, that hindrance is somewhat accounted for in the expectation metric. If defenders are loading the box, that lowers the expectation.

“Jacobs was good in 2022 by any measure, including RYOE (plus-158 that year). But after last season it looks as if that was the outlier year, not 2023. Jacobs has accrued negative rush yards over expectation in three of the past four seasons. Dating back to 2018, Jones has never recorded a negative RYOE season.”

The Packers clearly view Jacobs as a more versatile weapon and explosive runner than Jones was, coming off a 2023 season in which Jones rushed for just 656 yards and two scores in 11 games.

How Josh Jacobs Can be Upgrade for Green Bay Packers

Josh Jacobs arrives into the Green Bay Packers backfield at age 26, and already with a rushing crown on his mantle.

If Jacobs can put a quad injury suffered in December 2023 behind him, and return to form, his best football might be in front of him. That’s especially true if Jacobs continues to be a dangerous weapon in the passing game because he’ll benefit from being ascending quarterback Jordan Love’s security blanket on screen passes and in the flat.