Packers’ Nixon says hamstring tightness caused him to miss first practice

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon wanted no part of any conversation about his contract situation Thursday.

Each time the topic was broached — three times in all — Nixon simply repeated that he was leaving it up to his agent, Tory Dandy, and Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.

“I’m here to play ball,” Nixon said.

But Nixon did want to make one thing clear: He didn’t miss the Packers’ first practice of training camp to demonstrate his dissatisfaction with his contract.

“It had nothing to do with that,” he said.

Rather, although he’d passed his physical upon arriving at camp, Nixon woke up Wednesday morning with tightness in his hamstring and the team recommended he have it examined. So he did.

“Literally waking up, it was sore. They just told me to go get it scanned,” Nixon explained after returning to his normal spot with the No. 1 offense for all of Thursday’s practice. “They weren’t really (concerned) about me (not) practicing.”

If Nixon remains concerned about his contract, which calls for him to earn a $4.3 million base salary this season in the final year of a three-year, $18 million deal, he wouldn’t say so. Nixon’s $6 million annual average salary makes him the 41st-highest paid cornerback in the league, according to Spotrac.

Instead, he is focused on improving after working his way up from signing as a minimum-salary special-teams player in 2022, to All-Pro kick returner, to nickel cornerback, to No. 1 cornerback.

“I just want to compete, taking steps from last year,” Nixon said. “Just going over the film and watching the mistakes I made and just some of the dumb penalties that I gave up just not understanding the level of (playing outside cornerback) and what it takes, I feel like I had a really strong year to start it but I’m definitely ready to prove myself again this year.”

The 29-year-old Nixon started all 18 games (including playoffs) last season and was named to the NFC’s Pro Bowl team as an alternate. He finished the year with 78 tackles, three tackles for a loss, a fumble recovery, a career-high 17 pass break-ups and one interception — a victory-clinching, end-zone pick in a 28-21 victory over the rival Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7.

Pro Football Focus gave him a 66.4 overall grade, which ranked him 41st among the 114 cornerbacks the site graded.

“I thought Kei played some really good football for us,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said before practice. “He’s got a ton of experience under his belt and certainly knows how we want to do things around here. So, I’m excited to see him out there competing today.”

When Nixon didn’t practice Wednesday, rookie second-round pick Brandon Cisse worked with the starting defense. With Nixon back, he and Carrington Valentine were the starting cornerbacks.

Both Nixon and Valentine admitted Thursday that there have been some challenges to transitioning from previous defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s system to the one new coordinator Jonathan Gannon runs, making every training-camp practice snap count.

“It’s a new system, so (we need to)just keep getting reps in the system,” Nixon said. “I know the scheme. It’s just getting reps, getting ready for the year.”

And if he does that all year without a new deal?

“Just be myself, play ball. Same thing I’ve been doing since I’ve been here,” Nixon said. “This is my fifth year here, so the same mentality. Just play ball.”

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