GREEN BAY, Wis. — Thursday’s practice report was mostly the same as Wednesday, but the Green Bay Packers did receive some good news in their secondary.
Keisean Nixon and Evan Williams were both upgraded. The latter began the week limited with an unknown illness, but he was upgraded on Thursday. Nixon, however, was held out entirely on Wednesday with a groin injury, but he returned to the practice field with the rest of the team the following day.
“He was just feeling a little something in his groin, so we gave him the day,” said head coach Matt LaFleur.
The Packers will presumably err on the side of caution for the remainder of the week as they prepare to host the Dallas Cowboys. The last thing they need is Nixon aggravating the injury ahead of a matchup against CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens—arguably the most lethal receiving tandem in the league.
Nixon has quietly had a bounce-back campaign after a dismal end to the 2025 season. He drew eight targets into his coverage against Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum in the Packers’ win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, surrendering just four receptions for 26 yards. The week before, Nixon and the Packers’ secondary had the luxury of trying to contain an undrafted quarterback making his first career start in Jalon Daniels. Nixon was targeted seven times, allowing five receptions for a measly 20 yards. For the season, Nixon has allowed an opposing passer rating of 65.3 when targeted—that’s the lowest mark of his career for a single season and a far cry from last year’s 105.1.
With Nixon back at practice, only four players were held out on Thursday, and one of them—Javon Hargrave—will be sent to injured reserve in the coming days. Jonathan Ford missed his second consecutive practice with a calf injury, leaving the Packers remarkably thin at defensive tackle.
The only healthy bodies at the position on the 53-man roster are Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, and Chris McClellan, with David Blay Jr. on the practice squad. Anthony Campbell is also on the active roster, but he’s missed the Packers’ last three games with an ankle injury. He’s been a limited practice participant each of the last two days.
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.
“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.
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. 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, “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.”
Williams, a third-round pick last spring, injured his ankle in the Packers’ Aug. 21 preseason game against the Denver Broncos. He opened the regular season on injured reserve, where he has, unfortunately, become a mainstay. His rookie year ended there ahead of the Packers’ regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings after he gutted through a foot injury that plagued him for several weeks. He also began the season navigating a nagging hamstring issue, but he still managed to play in 12 games and appeared in some critical moments for the Packers’ offense.
The versatile Williams had more carries (11) than he did receptions (10) as a rookie, but he caught every target that came his way, accumulating 78 yards and an eight-yard touchdown reception in the team’s Oct. 28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was also Williams that Jordan Love turned to in the waning moments of a Nov. 16 game against the New York Giants. Trailing 20-19, Love heaved up a third-and-10 pass for Williams, who elevated to make the 33-yard catch.
Here’s the Packers’ full practice report for Thursday.
Limited
OG Aaron Banks (Knee/Toe)
DT Anthony Campbell (Ankle)
OG Jacob Monk (Quadricep)
DT Jordon Riley (Achilles)
WR Savion Williams (Ankle)
DT Devonte Wyatt (Ankle)
CB Keisean Nixon (Groin)
Did Not Participate
DT Jonathan Ford (Calf)
DT Javon Hargrave (Achilles)
WR Skyy Moore (Ankle)
CB Benjamin St-Juste (Hamstring)
Full Participation
EDGE Lukas Van Ness (Shoulder)
S Evan Williams (Illness)
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.