Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon told a heartwarming story on Wednesday about how Aaron Rodgers influenced him.
Rodgers spent 18 of his 21 seasons in Green Bay and met Nixon in his first season with the Packers in 2022. Three years and two teams later, Rodgers is set to return to Green Bay with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
“Everybody knows I did not want to come here,“ Nixon said at his locker on Wednesday. ”I hated it here when I first got here, and I used to just be kind of miserable, you know, just wasn’t comfortable, just trying to get to know guys and stuff like that.”
“Aaron used to always just be like, ‘Why [are] you so mad and angry?’ and made me give him a hug, and then it was like a thing,” he said. “But our relationship grew over time and, you know, we still talk, communicate, and stuff like that, but I appreciate him always.”
Nixon was a free agent selection of the then-Oakland Raiders in 2019. He spent three seasons as a cornerback and kick returner with the Raiders, following them in their move to Las Vegas.
He signed with the Packers as a free agent in 2022, which ended up being Rodgers’ last year with the team.
This ended up being a career year for Nixon. As a returner, he led the league in kick returns with 35, return yards with 1,009, and had a 105-yard return touchdown. He also hit then-career numbers as a defender, with 23 tackles, two passes defended, and his first career interception.
Besides helping him be more comfortable around his teammates, Rodgers also pushed Nixon to be a better defender. He recounted a story of how he made a bet with with Rodgers that if he picked the veteran quarterback off in practice, Rodgers would sign a jersey for him. Late in the year, he did pick him off and got his jersey.
Rodgers had a reputation as a diva at the time, but Nixon said that wasn’t his experience.
“It was always good vibes,” he said. “He always, like, lifted players up. I remember when I was kind of going through like a slump early on in that year, and I wasn’t playing that much and he just told me, ‘It’s going to come, just be ready,’ and he just always told me to keep that dog in me.”
“I remember it was always, like, an issue with the kick return stuff, and he’d tell me, like I [would] look on the [sideline], he’d be like, ‘Just take it out ... I don’t care what you do with it,’” Nixon continued.
Nixon said Rodgers instilled confidence in him “real early,” and was always the first to come out from the sidelines to congratulate him when he made a play. “So that was always big as a young player, especially who he was as a person. So I always appreciate him for sure.”
Nixon was asked if there was any special trick to attack Rodgers as a defender, and he recounted an anecdote from his time with the Raiders.
Safety Karl Joseph was playing a Cover 2 shell but disguised his look pre-snap. Rodgers stopped the play and told Joseph to get back to his spot on the field.
Nixon concluded that because of Rodgers’ sheer experience, he has seen everything, so there’s no point trying to disguise coverage.
“I just think it’s a line up and play ball game,” he said.
But Rodgers is not invincible, and Nixon said he will be looking for the little shrug he gives—his tell before he throws the ball.
However, Nixon praised the confidence that comes with being a four-time NFL MVP, five-time All-Pro, and 10-time Pro Bowler.
“He’s got, like, an aura about himself,” Nixon said. “I don’t really think it has [anything] to do with how old he gets or anything, but you know, like, you win a Super Bowl—even like Joe Flacco, he still [has], like, a type of aura about him that people don’t understand ... He’s always still got that confidence for sure. So, I don’t think that’s going anywhere with him.”
Nixon said he still talks to Rodgers, but not this week, as he prepares to meet him on the field Sunday night.
