All eyes were always going to be on Keisean Nixon as the Green Bay Packers began training camp.
ESPN's Jason Wilde caught Packers fans' attention in June by saying, "I cannot say that with any degree of high confidence" that Nixon would play this season without a new contract. It understandably fueled speculation about whether we'd see Nixon on the practice field at the start of training camp.
On Wednesday, the Packers announced that Nixon wouldn't practice due to a hamstring injury. He hadn't been placed on the physically unable to perform list before training camp, which made his absence surprising.
It raised questions with Wilde, who spoke about Nixon's absence on ESPN Milwaukee.
"I am never, ever comfortable with questioning the veracity of a player's injury, and he was not in the locker room today to talk about this, but I can't remember a time when a player passed his physical, so he's not on the physically unable to perform list, and then doesn't practice because of an injury," Wilde said. "Keisean Nixon, according to the team, has a hamstring injury."
Co-host Steve "The Homer" True asked Wilde whether it could be a "contract thing."
"It certainly could be," Wilde said. "You will not hear me say that it is, because I don't know. Keisean was not in the locker room today, so I didn't talk to him. I don't know what he would say if he was."
Wilde then clarified: "I want to be very clear: I do not know."
And that final point is an important one. The only information we have is that Nixon is dealing with a hamstring injury. Anything else is pure speculation.
Keisean Nixon's status could have a significant impact on the Packers' cornerback room
Wilde certainly wasn't alone in raising the question.
"Don't wanna jump to conclusions, but if Keisean Nixon is doing a 'hold-in' it's going to be awkward," writes Mark Oldacres of Packers Wire. "Packers clearly aren't going to give him an extension, but they do need him."
The longer Nixon misses at training camp, the cloudier the situation at cornerback becomes. Despite the wholesale changes made this offseason, the expectation is for Nixon to remain a starter alongside one of Brandon Cisse, Carrington Valentine, or Benjamin St-Juste.
Nixon is entering a contract year, but regardless of whether he receives an extension this summer, he is the presumed CB1. One certainty is that his absence on Wednesday gave the other cornerbacks an opportunity to gain valuable first-team reps, including second-round rookie Cisse.
Keisean Nixon's absence has handed second-round pick Brandon Cisse a golden opportunity
Cisse offers the highest upside in the Packers' cornerback room, but as always with rookies, it's important to temper expectations. He would need to overtake Valentine on the depth chart and fend off competition from free-agent addition St-Juste.
So far, it appears he's ahead of St-Juste.
According to Andy Herman of Packer Report, Cisse started with the first-team defense alongside Valentine during Wednesday's practice, while St-Juste worked with the twos. It's just one practice, and the Packers may also be easing St-Juste in after he missed practice time in the spring. Still, it's a golden opportunity for Cisse to prove he deserves a featured role as a rookie.
Mike McCarthy used to talk about stacking success, and Cisse is doing that. He had plenty of first-team opportunities in the offseason workouts and hasn't looked out of place.
"OTAs, we were watching him. He made a lot of plays out there. He did a lot of good things. He is a very talented corner," Jordan Love said on Wednesday.
Per Bill Huber of Packers On SI, the defense dominated Day 1 of camp. Cisse made an encouraging start. Huber highlighted one specific play where the rookie "was there ASAP on a short pass to Matthew Golden."
The opportunities will keep coming his way, especially if Nixon misses more time. Cisse has a chance to prove why he can play significant snaps from Week 1.
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