Nick Cross

Nicolas Cross (born September 10, 2001) is an American professional football safety for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Cross played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Early life Cross was born on September 10, 2001, the son of Michael and Anna Cross. His father, Michael, is from Jamaica and his mother from Trinidad and Tobago. He attended the St. Jerome Academy in Hyattsville, Maryland for his early education.

Cross attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He played in the 2019 Army All-American Bowl. Cross was rated as four star recruit. He originally committed to Florida State University to play college football but switched to the University of Maryland, College Park.

College career

Cross played at Maryland from 2019 to 2021. During his career he started 21 of 29 games and recorded 134 tackles, six interceptions, three forced fumbles, and four sacks. Cross was voted Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in each of his three seasons at Maryland. After the 2021 season, he decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2022 NFL draft.

Professional career Pre-draft He participated in the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine where he had the fastest 40 yard dash, among safeties, with a time of 4.34 seconds. NFL media analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranked Cross as the seventh best safety prospect in the draft (68th overall). Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus ranked him as the fourth best safety on his big board (64th overall). Jeff Legwold of ESPN had him as the seventh best safety in the draft (71st overall). Bleacher Report had Cross ranked as the sixth best safety prospect (68th overall). Kevin Hanson of Sports Illustrated ranked him sixth among all safeties. NFL draft analysts projected Cross would be selected in either the second or third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Indianapolis Colts 2022 The Indianapolis Colts selected Cross in the third round (96th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft. The Colts executed a trade with the Denver Broncos in order to secure the selection of Cross by agreeing to trade their 2022 fifth-round pick (179th overall) and a third-round pick (67th overall) in the 2023 NFL draft in exchange for the 2022 third-round pick (96th overall) they used immediately to select Cross. He was the eighth safety drafted in 2022 and was also the youngest player to be selected in the 2022 NFL draft at 20 years old.

On May 13, 2022, the Indianapolis Colts signed Cross to a four–year, $5.06 million rookie contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $864,100.

Throughout training camp, Cross competed against Rodney McLeod for the starting job at strong safety after it became vacant following the sudden retirement of Khari Willis.

On September 11, 2022, Cross made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start in the Indianapolis Colts' season-opener at the Houston Texans and made four solo tackles as they tied 20–20 after overtime. The following week, he collected a season-high five combined tackles (three solo) during a 0–24 loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. Entering Week 3, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley opted to bench Cross and named Rodney McLeod the starting strong safety in his place. He finished his rookie season during the 2022 NFL season with only 17 combined tackles (11 solo), a forced fumble, and one fumble in 16 games and two starts. He was relegated to solely appear on special teams and was limited to very few snaps on defense. As a special teams player, Cross earned a special teams grade of 90.0 from Pro Football Focus.

2023

During training camp, he competed to be a starting safety against Rodney Thomas II under defensive coordinator after it was open following the departure of Rodney McLeod. Head coach Shane Steichen named him a backup safety to begin the season with Julian Blackmon and Rodney Thomas II as the starting safeties.

On December 16, 2023, Cross made three combined tackles (one solo), a pass deflection, and had his first career interception on a pass attempt by Mitchell Trubisky to wide receiver George Pickens as the Colts defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 30–13. In Week 17, he earned his first start of the season after Julian Blackmon was placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury. He collected a season-high nine combined tackles (six solo) as the Colts defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 23–20. He finished the 2023 NFL season with 39 combined tackles (24 solo), two pass deflections, and one interception, while appearing in all 17 games with only two starts. He received an overall grade of 71.8 from Pro Football Focus in 2023.

2024

He entered training camp as a possible candidate to be a starting safety, but had to compete for the role against Rodney Thomas II and Ronnie Harrison. Head coach Shane Steichen named Cross the starting strong safety to begin the season alongside free safety Julian Blackmon.

In Week 2, he collected a career-high 15 combined tackles (ten solo) as the Colts lost 10–16 at the Green Bay Packers. On October 6, 2024, Cross made five combined tackles (two solo), a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Trevor Lawrence to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. during a 34–37 loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars. On December 1, 2024, Cross recorded nine combined tackles (eight solo) and had his first career sack on quarterback Drake Maye for a two–yard loss during a 25–24 victory at the New England Patriots. The following week, he made five combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, and set a new career-high with his third interception of the season on a pass by Bo Nix to wide receiver Courtland Sutton during a 13–31 loss at the Denver Broncos in Week 15. He started all 17 games for the first time in his career and had a career-high 146 combined tackles (87 solo), five pass deflections, a career-high three interceptions, and one sack. He received an overall grade of 70.3 from Pro Football Focus in 2024, which ranked 45th among 171 qualifying safeties.

Washington Commanders On March 13, 2026, Cross signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Washington Commanders.

Career statistics NFL Legend Bold Career high

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2022 IND 16 2 17 11 6 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2023 IND 17 2 39 24 15 0.0 1 1 18 18.0 18 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2024 IND 17 17 146 87 59 1.0 6 3 25 8.3 20 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 2025 IND 17 17 120 72 48 2.5 5 1 0 0.0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0Career 67 38 322 194 128 3.5 12 5 43 8.6 20 0 12 2 1 1 0 0

College + Season Team GP Tackles Interceptions Cmb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds Avg TD PD 2019 Maryland 11 45 30 15 0 2 0 0 0 5 2020 Maryland 4 23 14 9 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 2021 Maryland 12 66 44 22 3.0 3 55 18.3 0 2 Career 27 134 88 46 4.0 5 55 11.0 0 10