Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishPerhaps Keisean Nixon will reconsider his stance of not wanting to return kicks anymore.After Nixon was named a first-team All-Pro for his kick-return prowess in both 2022 and 2023, the NFL enacted a rule change that moved touchbacks from the 25-yard line to the 30 for the 2024 season. Nixon was convinced he’d three-peat as an All-Pro, as the change was supposed to mean more returns with kickers incentivized to keep the ball in front of the end zone.Instead, the player who led the NFL in kick returns in both 2022 with 35 and 2023 with 30 only brought 18 kicks out in 2024. He was still effective with 29.3 yards per kick return, which ranked ninth among 33 players with double-digit returns. But the Packers ranked 29th in kick returns, as teams were willing to give them those extra five yards on a touchback instead of risking Nixon breaking off a long return.Nixon became so frustrated with teams avoiding him that, on locker clean-out day after the Packers’ playoff loss against the Eagles, Nixon said he was done returning kicks.“I’m kind of over it,” Nixon said when asked about playing a full season with the new kickoff rule. “I don’t really want to do it no more. There’s going to be talks with the coaching staff and stuff like that, but I think it’s over with for me.” He later added, “I want to be CB1. CB1 is not doing kick returns. That’s just what it is.”Last week at the NFL’s league meeting, teams passed another kickoff rule change, this one permanently moving a touchback to the 35-yard line. Now, teams are even more incentivized to keep the ball out of the end zone.“We’re gonna see a lot more kickoff returns now,” Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi said last week after playing a leading role in the rule change.Nixon might be having a change of heart regardless of how much he plays on defense, if he hadn’t already after a talk with head coach Matt LaFleur following his somewhat controversial comments.LaFleur ensured that if the Packers wanted Nixon to return kicks in 2025, he would. GM Brian Gutekunst was asked at the NFL Scouting Combine about Nixon’s comments and said this:“He’s pretty good at it. I wouldn’t say he doesn’t want to. I know he said what he said, but he’s pretty good at it and he’s gotten a lot of awards because of it. I will say this: I’d like to have multiple options there. Obviously, he played a lot of defense for us last year. Was really proud of how he stepped up there. When you play as much as you do out there, obviously, you want to be able to protect him a little bit, as well.”True to his word, Gutekunst signed Mecole Hardman, another returner, in free agency. The former Chief has returned 89 punts in his career, but only 45 kicks. Twenty-seven of those kick returns came in his 2019 rookie season, after which he was named a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro for his return prowess. Hardman returned 20 punts for Kansas City last season with 10.2 yards per return but only five kicks with 26.4 yards per return. LaFleur said last week that he certainly expects the 27-year-old Hardman to handle some return duties; Gutekunst echoed that sentiment.
Mecole Hardman’s 20 kickoff returns last season were his most since returning 25 in 2020. (Denny Medley / Imagn Images)“He’s a little bit more experienced in the punt return game than the kick return game, but he can do both,” Gutekunst said. “He’s obviously going to add some speed to our football team. He’s been in big games and played well in big games. He’s been hampered by some injuries along the way, but when he’s healthy, he’s certainly an impactful player.”Hardman will come in handy if Nixon is indeed Green Bay’s No. 1 cornerback since the Packers likely won’t want to burden Nixon with both those duties and special teams responsibilities, even if Nixon is willing to do both full time. There remains the possibility that cornerback Jaire Alexander returns to the Packers in 2025 despite the team being open to trading him, which would bump Nixon to No. 2 on the cornerback depth chart and perhaps No. 3 if free-agent signing Nate Hobbs excels on the outside.The latter scenario would free up Nixon to handle all kick returns and chase a third first-team All-Pro nod in four years. No matter what happens at cornerback, the Packers have provided themselves with versatility in the form of two former All-Pro returners to attack the newest kickoff rule change.(Photo: Junfu Han / Imagn Images)
