The Green Bay Packers are preparing to play Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. The matchup with the former Packers quarterback is making headlines but Matt LaFleur is doing his best to downplay the Rodgers narrative. Green Bay’s head coach insisted that it’s a media-constructed storyline. And, according to LaFleur, very few of his players were even around in the future Hall of Famer’s last season with the Packers.

But Keisean Nixon remembers his time with Rodgers well. “I did not wanna come here. I hated it here when I first got here,” the Packers cornerback admitted, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman.

“I used to just be kinda miserable – just wasn't comfortable, just trying to get to know guys and stuff like that. And Aaron used to always be like, ‘Why you so mad and angry?' and made me give him a hug and then it was like a thing. But our relationship grew over time. We still talk and communicate and stuff like that. But I appreciate him always,” Nixon explained.

He may appreciate Rodgers but when asked if he has reached out to the quarterback ahead of their Week 8 matchup, Nixon didn’t mince words. “No, I’m not talking to him right now. Absolutely not.”

Aaron Rodgers helped Keisean Nixon adjust to Green Bay

Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) runs upfield after intercepting a pass against the Detroit Lions in the third quarter at Ford Field.
Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Nixon began his career as an undrafted free agent with the then-Oakland Raiders. He spent three seasons with the team before signing with the Packers in 2022. Apparently Rodgers helped the young defensive back adjust, as Nixon’s career blossomed in Green Bay.

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In addition to a major leap in the secondary, he became an important return specialist for the Packers. Nixon led the league in kickoff return yards in 2022 and 2023, making first-team All-Pro as a kick returner in both seasons.

Now he’ll face off against Rodgers as the veteran quarterback plays against his former team for the first time.

Despite LaFleur’s dismissive account, there are actually 12 players currently on the Packers’ roster who were teammates with the four-time MVP in Green Bay. That includes Jordan Love, who was drafted 26th overall in 2020, the same year Rodgers won his third MVP.

Still, Rodgers doesn’t consider the Packers tilt a revenge game. He reportedly had a positive relationship with Love – a contrast to his uncomfortable experience with Brett Favre 15 years earlier.

For his part, Love is downplaying the matchup with Rodgers. The fifth-year passer simply considers it just “another game.”