Christian Izien

Christian Izien (born June 8, 2000) is an American professional football safety for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 NFL draft.

Early life Izien was born on June 8, 2000. He grew up in Far Rockaway, New York, and attended Erasmus Hall High School. A two-way player as a cornerback and wide receiver, he earned New York City Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior. Ranked a three-star recruit, he opted to be near home by committing to play college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

College career As a true freshman at Rutgers in 2018, Izien appeared in four games as a special teams player. Izien started all 13 games in 2021, being named honorable mention all-conference while having 75 tackles.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Izien was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent. He impressed in the off-season and made the final roster, being named the starting nickelback as a rookie. He had interceptions in his first two games, becoming only the fourth undrafted player in NFL history to accomplish the feat. As a rookie, he appeared in all 17 regular season games and made four starts. He finished with 65 total tackles (47 solo), two interceptions, two passes defended, and one forced fumble.

Izien made 14 appearances (10 starts) for Tampa Bay in 2024, totaling one interception, three pass deflections, one forced fumble, and 75 combined tackles. On December 26, 2024, Izien was placed on injured reserve with a pectoral injury, ending his season.

Detroit Lions On March 13, 2026, Izien signed with the Detroit Lions on a one-year contract.

NFL career statistics Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR Yds TD 2023 TB 17 4 65 47 18 0.0 3 2 2 18 9.0 14 0 1 0 0 0 2024 TB 14 10 75 48 27 0.0 4 3 1 17 17.0 17 0 1 0 0 0 2025 TB 14 1 25 16 9 0.0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0Career 45 15 165 111 54 0.0 8 5 3 35 11.6 17 0 3 0 0 0