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Taken by the Denver Broncos with the 251st overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, Los Angeles Rams CB Taurean Nixon didn’t initially win a spot on Denver’s active roster. He landed on the Broncos’ practice squad but was promoted to the active roster prior the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots in January of 2016 but didn’t see any snaps for Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips’ No-Fly Zone with CB Aqib Talib . While still a part of the roster for the Super Bowl 50 win over the Carolina Panthers, Nixon was one of the inactives for the game.
Bouncing around the roster and practice squad for 2016 before being waived in the summer of 2017, he played in two games and was credited with a single tackle.
The Jacksonville Jaguars picked him up off waivers in June 2017 only to be placed on injured reserve the following month. Over the next six months, he’d be waived by the Jaguars, picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts for their respective practice squads before finally making his most recent practice squad appearance for the Rams in late December.
Suffice to say, Taurean Nixon knows how hard it can be to eke out an NFL career at the margins.
Roster Battle
It’s a tough year to be an aspiring cornerback in the LA Rams’ locker room. Offseason pickups Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters are locked into the starting jobs. Slot CB Nickell Robey-Coleman is a lock for his role having re-signed on a three-year deal in March. CB Sam Shields, who we picked up from the Green Bay Packers, could be a strong contender for the other #2 spot depending on his medical readiness.
That effectively means that the other four CB candidates and Nixon are competing for a practice squad / occasional activation spot. That’s a position that Mr. Nixon should be very comfortable in.
Expectations
Assuming he makes the practice squad in his final year of eligibility and gets activated for throwaway game in December, expect him to make his second career tackle. It’s been two seasons since his last one. It’s time to end the drought.
Chances of making the final roster (.01/10)
I’m being generous here. This number should be zero, but there’s always a chance.