The Green Bay Packers’ secondary got a welcome update ahead of Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.
Rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse, the Packers’ first selection in the 2026 draft, is no longer on the injury report after leaving the season opener with cramps, via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
Cisse, taken 52nd overall after Green Bay dealt its first-round pick in the Micah Parsons trade, opened the year as a starter opposite Keisean Nixon. In the 39-22 loss at Minnesota he logged 49 defensive snaps before the cramps ended his afternoon.
Carrington Valentine finished the remaining 16.
The only reception charged to Cisse was a 39-yard touchdown by Justin Jefferson.
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon later said the rookie did “some really good things,” citing work to be done on locating the ball and body position while adding that Cisse is “wired the right way.”
That early trust is unusual for a player with just one full college starting season. Cisse began at North Carolina State, transferred to South Carolina, and started all 12 games in 2025, finishing with 27 tackles, five pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble.
His athletic testing—a 41-inch vertical and a 4.40-second 40 at his pro day—helped him climb the Packers’ depth chart quickly.
By August, he was working regularly with the first-team defense, beating out Valentine and veteran Benjamin St-Juste for the starting job.
Thursday’s report from ESPN’s Rob Demovsky confirmed Cisse practiced fully Wednesday and was taken off the injury list.
For an 0-1 team that surrendered 29 second-half points in Week 1, the news removes a question mark before a road matchup Gannon has called a “big-time challenge” against Frank Reich’s Jets offense.
Cisse’s workload in Minneapolis already showed how Green Bay views him. St-Juste played one defensive snap. Valentine entered only after Cisse left. The Packers are treating the 21-year-old as part of their preferred lineup, not as a developmental extra.
Sunday in New York gives him a chance to answer the Jefferson touchdown and prove the first start was the start of something more durable.
The Packers still have to reset after a collapse that dropped them to 0-1. Having their top 2026 pick available without a designation at least lets them do it with the corner they chose to start the season.
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