GREEN BAY, Wis. — Crisis averted for the Green Bay Packers and ascending rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse.
Cisse, the team’s second-round pick this past spring, avoided a knee injury after dropping out of the Aug. 21 preseason contest against the Denver Broncos. He opened the game with the Packers’ No. 1 defense opposite Keisean Nixon on the boundary, but between the two defensive possessions, Cisse was deployed on special teams, too.
While attempting to beat a double-team block, Cisse tweaked something in his knee. He spent a brief period in the blue medical tent on the sideline and was later shown on the broadcast attempting to gingerly ride a stationary exercise bike. On Monday, head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed that Cisse—and the Packers, really—dodged a bullet.
“He should be fine,” LaFleur said before the Packers’ penultimate practice of training camp. “He should be good to go.”
The expectation is that Cisse won’t skip a beat—he should be available to participate in team drills with the first-team defense this week. That’s imperative with the Arizona Cardinals in town for a joint practice with the Packers on Wednesday. The work that Cisse gets against the tandem of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson—especially in a controlled environment such as practice—will be critical for the 21-year-old’s development.
Cisse, who has quickly become a fixture in the Packers’ secondary as the only cornerback not to be rotated out of the No. 1 defense, shined in the Aug. 13 opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He allowed just two receptions for 13 yards, but his best play came in run support—a godsend for a team in desperate need of cornerbacks that can tackle.
Steelers tailback Lew Nichols—and a former seventh-round pick of the Packers—took a handoff on second-and-9 and appeared to run into a wall of linemen before he emerged from the chaos and sneakily made a break for the end zone on the left side of the field. Cisse, who was matched up with wideout Roman Wilson on the perimeter, slowed down, assuming Nichols was contained within the pile-up of bodies.
When Nichols shot back outside, Cisse was able to beat him to the pylon this time, undercutting him and limiting him to a six-yard carry.
In Denver, Cisse played just six defensive snaps before exiting with the aforementioned knee injury. The one throw into his coverage—while matched up with No. 1 receiver and eighth-year veteran Courtland Sutton—was incomplete.
All signs are pointing toward Cisse remaining in the lineup as a day-one starter for the Packers when they travel to Minnesota for the Sept. 13 opener against the Vikings.