Green Bay Packers fans were already concerned about Keisean Nixon's suitability as a starting cornerback this season. Nixon hasn't done much to assuage those anxieties in training camp, and it didn't get any better when Matthew Golden worked him multiple times during the Packers' Family Night practice on August 7.
Sunday, the team took a step that seemingly acknowledged Nixon's struggles, relegating the veteran to the bench unit during the second set of practice reps while rolling with Brandon Cisse and Benjamin St-Juste with the first-stringers.
It's only practice, of course, and the move in itself doesn't mean anything explicit. Stacked on last season's inconsistencies and his underwhelming camp, though, it could hint that Nixon's grip on a surefire starting role is slipping.
Keisean Nixon's poor training camp hasn't helped his starting case
It's not all about Nixon. A big part of the equation is just how good Cisse has been. The rookie looked like a Year 1 contributor almost from the jump. Initial, more tentative hopes that he could seize a starter's spot appear more realistic by the day.
At the same time, that wouldn't be a conversation if Nixon and Carrington Valentine were holding down the fort as last season's returning starters. Instead, Valentine is nursing a hamstring injury, and Nixon has been beaten on several notable occasions during practice, most glaringly at Family Night on Friday.
Packers fans want to see Golden shine, of course, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence when Nixon, a seventh-year veteran, is being put in a blender by a sophomore receiver.
Although it's only a handful of unflattering plays, the small sample of Nixon's training-camp footage has not helped solidify his case as CB1. Going even further, the Packers pivoting to Cisse and St-Juste for first-team reps on Sunday certainly does not suggest that Nixon is closer to cementing himself as a starter.
At the risk of overanalyzing, it seems fair to say that he is less likely, not more, to keep his place in the cornerback hierarchy than when training camp began. Dissatisfaction with Nixon has gained steam since the second half of last season, when his play fell off and the Packers' secondary suffered as a result.
Thus far, his newly focused offseason training has not produced the encouraging summer film that fans had hoped for. It's possible the reported hamstring issue that caused Nixon to miss the Packers' training-camp debut is holding him back. Or it may not be a factor.
A poor training camp doesn't guarantee that Nixon will be absent from Week 1's starting lineup. He has time to rebound. Plus, benching Nixon - there, we said it - would still require two of Cisse, St-Juste, and Valentine, whose own job security is more tenuous, to prove themselves worthy starters.
That said, what seemed like a very bold prediction a few months ago may be creeping closer to possibility. The Packers' willingness to explore other first-team options should raise a few eyebrows as training camp presses on.
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