The Indianapolis Colts had two priorities in free agency, and those were keeping quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce. Mission accomplished. The issue is that Indy would likely be losing other starters, including safety Nick Cross, who signed with the Washington Commanders.
The deal, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, is relatively inexpensive for the Commanders. They will pay the safety a maximum of $14 million over two seasons. Cross leaving Indy was not unexpected, however.
The team might have his replacement already on the roster in the person of Hunter Wohler, but Wohler has to prove he can stay healthy. He missed all of last season with a Lisfranc issue. Should he become a starter, he could be an immediate upgrade over Cross in one area.
Former Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross signs with the Washington Commanders
Cross is not good in a key part of playing in the secondary, and that is pass coverage. In the past two seasons, the first two years where Cross was a full-time starter, the safety has allowed 10 touchdown passes and had a quarterback rating allowed of 107.
Would he be worth $7 million a year, the amount Washington paid him? Maybe not. Still, he is a willing and effective tackler and stout against the run. He is too small to play linebacker, but his skill set is one that would resemble a solid player at that spot more than as a safety. He can also supply quarterback pressure at times.
Those last traits could lead one to wonder if the Commanders will find a way to use Nick Cross better than he was used in Indianapolis. Maybe he is a better fit in Washington's blitz packages and plays continuously closer to the line.
The risk with losing any free agent, of course, is that the player will leave one team and suddenly be quite good on his new one. That leaves fans wondering what happened with the player before. A real chance exists that Cross leaves the Indianapolis Colts wondering what happened.
The truth is that general manager Chris Ballard couldn't truly afford to bring Cross at the amount the Commanders are going to pay him. That money needed to go to Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce instead. Ultimately, the Colts are going to win more games having the QB and WR than they would have had that made re-signing Cross a priority.