GREEN BAY, Wis. — There aren’t any question marks around Keisean Nixon’s status this week.
Head coach Matt LaFleur confirmed as much Friday morning when asked about the Green Bay Packers’ starting cornerback and whether or not his groin injury will keep him out of Sunday night’s primetime bout with the Dallas Cowboys. There was some uncertainty when Nixon began the week as a non-participant in practice.
“He’ll play,” LaFleur said. “He doesn’t miss too many practices. He looked at me and said, ‘How many games have I missed since I’ve been here?’”
There isn’t as much certainty about Nixon’s running mate, Brandon Cisse. The rookie second-round pick was a late addition to the practice report on Friday with a hip injury. He’s one of five questionable players for Sunday night.
It’s almost imperative that the Packers have both of their top cornerbacks at their disposal against the Cowboys’ top-flight receiving tandem of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, who rank No. 3 and 13 in the league in receiving yards, respectively.
If Cisse can’t play, then the situation becomes dire, because Benjamin St-Juste was already ruled out with a hamstring injury that will now sideline him for the second time in four games. That would bump Carrington Valentine and Kamal Hadden—who converted to safety during training camp—up the depth chart. The Packers could also opt to elevate sixth-round rookie Domani Jackson from the practice squad for what would be his first action in the league.
Through five games, Cisse has surrendered 11 receptions on 17 targets into his coverage for 194 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 106 of those yards came in the Packers’ Sept. 24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, when Drake London totaled nine receptions for 194 yards in the lowest point of the season thus far for the team’s secondary. Cisse has also been weaponized frequently by defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as a blitzer, allowing the rookie to tally 1.5 sacks.
Anthony Campbell is questionable after missing the Packers’ last three games with an ankle injury. He was a limited participant in practice throughout the week, and with Jonathan Ford already ruled out due to a calf injury, the Packers are going to need all the help they can get at defensive tackle. LaFleur said that the Packers will have a plan in place to combat the comically thin numbers at the position, which could include elevating David Blay Jr. from the practice squad.
“He’s progressing,” LaFleur said of Campbell. “He had two good days of practice, and we’ll see how he does [Friday].”
At the moment, Chris McClellan and Karl Brooks are the only defensive tackles on the roster who don’t have an injury designation. Devonte Wyatt has played in every game this season, but he’s been a mainstay on the injury report each week. The Packers are managing his practice workload following last year’s season-ending lower-leg injury.
Javon Hargrave, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles last week, will be placed on injured reserve in the near future. A reinforcement in 6’5”, 338-pound Jordon Riley could be on his way to bolster the room. Riley, who played in four games for the Packers last December before suffering a torn Achilles, practiced for the first time on Wednesday.
He’s been designated to return from the physically unable to perform list (PUP), and LaFleur anticipates that he’ll be able to crack the defensive tackle rotation once he’s healthy enough, but that doesn’t appear to be happening this week. He’s listed as doubtful.
“Yeah, absolutely, I think he can do a lot of things,” said LaFleur, “he played good football for us last year. Watching him getting back out on the practice field was great to see. This guy worked his tail off with our trainers and strength staff, and really put himself in a pretty good position.”
After being designated to return from injured reserve on Oct. 7, Savion Williams, the Packers’ dual-threat wideout, is slowly working his way back into action. The Packers have until Oct. 28 to activate him to the 53-man roster, and they can choose to do so as soon as this weekend, potentially allowing him to play against the Cowboys. After two weeks of limited practices, Williams is on the cusp of making his season debut.
It’d be a major boost to the Packers’ receiving corps that’s without both Jayden Reed and Skyy Moore. Reed was placed on injured reserve after the season-ending neck injury he suffered on Sept. 20, and Moore exited Sunday’s game against the Bears with an ankle injury. He was later seen in the locker room sporting a walking boot, but LaFleur doesn’t believe it’s a long-term injury. Moore was already ruled out for Sunday night.
Either way, Williams provides another element that LaFleur can weaponize as a chess piece, much like he did last season.
“We’ve done a lot of different things with him dating back to last year, putting him in different positions,” LaFleur said Thursday, “but where he’s grown the most is just his route-running ability. He’s worked really hard at it.
“He was out there last week running around, and he looked really good.”
Here’s the full game status report for Week 6.
Out
DT Jonathan Ford (Calf)
DT Javon Hargrave (Achilles)
WR Skyy Moore (Ankle)
CB Benjamin St-Juste (Hamstring)
Doubtful
DT Jordon Riley (Achilles)
Questionable
OG Aaron Banks (Knee/Toe)
DT Anthony Campbell (Ankle)
CB Brandon Cisse (Hip)
OG Jacob Monk (Quadricep)
WR Savion Williams (Ankle)
No Designation
CB Keisean Nixon (Groin)
EDGE Lukas Van Ness (Shoulder)
S Evan Williams (Illness)
DT Devonte Wyatt (Ankle)
Zachary Jacobson is the author of The Packer Dispatch. He is entering his 12th season covering the Green Bay Packers after spending seven as the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter @zachjacobson or contact him via email at itszachariahj@gmail.com.