Indianapolis Colts safety and Maryland alum Nick Cross is coming off a productive third year in the NFL, but he’s now preparing for a new season.
The 6-foot, 212-pound safety had the best season of his career in 2024, starting 17 games and posting 146 tackles and three interceptions for the Colts. Cross ranked ninth in the NFL for solo tackles with 87.
Cross, who turns 24 in September, is happy that the work he has put in has translated to success on the field.
“It’s not about proving everybody else wrong,” Cross said on Glenn Clark Radio Aug. 6. “It’s just, at the end of the day, proving to myself that yeah, I belong in the league, I can play at a high level day in, day out, week in, week out against the best players in the league, and I can find myself sitting among the best in the NFL.”
The 2022 third-round pick has a love for football and high-caliber competition, which shines through on game day.
“I remember the days I used to sit on the couch and watch [on] Sundays and watch games for hours. So being a part of it, that hypes me up,” Cross said. “And then, being able to go out there and play against high-quality opponents, go out there and make plays and do what you love, that’s all the motivation enough for it.”
The Colts went 8-9 in 2024, missing the playoffs for a fourth straight year. Whether they can return to the postseason in 2025 may come down to whether they see improvement from the quarterback position.
Anthony Richardson Sr., Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard and Jason Bean are in the quarterback room this summer, with Richardson and Jones competing for the starting position. Training camp gives the defense a chance to see multiple types of passers under center, according to Cross.
Richardson will start against the Ravens on Aug. 7.
“[Richardson and Jones] have unique skill sets. Both of them are very good competitors and people that you have to prepare differently for,” Cross said. “Getting different looks at different quarterbacks [is] how it’s going to be during the season — one week of players with a certain skill set, the next another one.
“It gives us real-time [practice]. We have to adjust to different quarterbacks, adjust to what they do and what their strong suits are and go out there and still execute.”
The Ravens and Colts held a joint practice in Owings Mills on Aug. 5, two days before their preseason game. Cross says joint practices are very important. He enjoys the competitiveness and game-like scenarios they bring.
“I feel like as preseason progresses, you see your starters not playing as much, especially when I was growing up,” Cross said. “Most of the reps that they’re getting are in those joint practices against the other team’s starters. … Those practices aren’t just practices where you come out there and go through the motions. You’re going out there and competing against a team. Although we’re not tackling to the ground, it gets pretty competitive out there, pretty physical.”
Cross keeps an eye on his alma mater as well. Maryland football coach Michael Locksley admitted to reporters during Big Ten Media Days that he “lost his locker room” in 2024, with challenges stemming from the changing landscape of college football. Locksley said that if he has to put his desk in the locker room this season, he will.
Cross has confidence that Locksley will win back his locker room this season.
“He’s going to get what he needs to get fixed, fixed. Nothing ever goes wrong for too long with Coach Locks there,” Cross said. “He knows how to identify the people who need to be weeded out, and he does what he needs to do. When it comes to moving his desk into the locker room, I don’t think that would be the most pleasant thing for him to do.
“Either way, he’s going to find a way to turn it around and make sure that he has the right guys and they’re guys who are worried about winning and not just worried about money.”
For more from Cross, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Indianapolis Colts