Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon offered a candid take recently on the overtime loss he endured against Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams during the 2025 season.
Nixon showed up in the video that announced Williams’ spot on the NFL Top 100 list for 2026. The former No. 1 overall pick landed at No. 51 after a league-wide player vote, and the Packers defensive back was among those asked about a key moment from their matchups.
That moment came in Week 16 when Williams floated a perfect 46-yard pass over Nixon’s head and into the hands of receiver DJ Moore in the end zone. The throw sealed a walk-off overtime win for the Bears in front of their home crowd at Soldier Field and completed a dramatic comeback.
Two weeks earlier in Week 14, the roles had been reversed. Nixon stepped in front of a pass from Williams in a game-deciding situation and secured the interception that clinched a 28-21 victory for the Packers.
“The game-winner on me, yeah,” Nixon said. “I gamed him and he gamed me, so it be like that. [Williams has] got a gift, just knows how to get it done.”
Those back-and-forth plays seemed to leave Nixon with a deeper level of respect for the young Bears quarterback as both sides prepare for another season of NFC North battles.
Nixon’s 2025 campaign with the Packers was full of those kinds of highs and lows. He started all 17 games for the first time in his career after declaring himself the team’s top cornerback before the season began.
He finished with one interception and 72 total tackles while tying for the sixth-most pass deflections in the league with 17. The effort was enough to earn him a Pro Bowl selection as an alternate for Seattle’s Devon Witherspoon.
The coverage statistics told a more complicated story, though. According to Pro Football Reference, Nixon allowed six touchdowns and an opposing passer rating of 105.1 when targeted throughout the regular season.
He also gave up more yards per completion at 11.6 and more yards per target at 7.5 than in any of his previous seasons with Green Bay. That pattern underscored the boom-or-bust nature of his play that showed up so clearly in the two games against the Bears.
The Packers will be looking for greater consistency from the 29-year-old in 2026, but how that unfolds could depend heavily on contract talks. Nixon is due a base salary of $4.3 million for the upcoming season.
Thirty-five other NFL cornerbacks already earn at least $10 million annually on their current deals, creating a gap that has drawn attention around the league. Packers insider Jason Wilde told ESPN Wisconsin in June that he remains skeptical about whether Nixon will take part in training camp or even play during the season if the team does not reach a new agreement.
If both sides hold firm, the situation could create some tension heading into the summer. Assuming they find common ground, Nixon is expected to line up again as the team’s No. 1 cornerback for a second straight year.
The Packers did take steps to bolster the position this offseason after their 2025 playoff exit raised questions about the secondary. In free agency they signed former Washington Commanders starter Benjamin St-Juste to a two-year contract.
They also invested in the draft, selecting South Carolina’s Brandon Cisse with their top pick at No. 52 overall and adding Alabama’s Domani Jackson in the sixth round. Even with those additions, the starting group may still look familiar, relying on improved play from Nixon and Carrington Valentine to hold down the position.
That mix of returning experience and new talent will be tested early as the Packers aim to build a more reliable defense.
For now, Nixon’s recent comments serve as a reminder of how personal these divisional matchups can become and how one play can shift the respect between competitors on both sides of the ball.
