Another safety candidate for the Buffalo Bills before the NFL trade deadline… why not?
Highlighted today is Commanders safety Nick Cross, a fifth-year explosive defensive back with 2,914 career snaps entering Week 9 who resides on an 2-4-1 Washington team that hosts the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9.
This article is the eleventh in the trade-candidate series I’ll continue to sprinkle onto the site until the actual trade deadline until November 10.
Past installments in this series:
Derwin James, Brian Thomas
Jr. Jessie Bates, Tariq Woolen, Amani Hooker, Antoine Winfield Jr., Cam Bynum, Zack Baun, Josh Downs, Budda Baker
Age: 25
A third-round pick by the Colts in 2022 after a productive career at the University of Maryland and a combine performance in which he ran 4.34 with a 130-inch broad jump (92nd percentile) at over 6’0” and 212 pounds, Cross didn’t become a full-time contributor on Indianapolis’ defense until this third professional season.
In that year, 2024, Cross made 146 tackles with six tackles for loss, five pass breakups, and three interceptions. A truly breakout season on an 8-9 Colts team.
Last season, Cross had 120 tackles, five tackles for loss, a pick, five more pass breakups, and 2.5 sacks. He signed a tw0-year, $13 million deal with the Commanders in March, which felt low relative to his youthfulness and 2024 and 2025 productivity.
2026 snap splits
Box: 31.3%
Free safety: 33%
Slot corner: 30%
Defensive line: 4.2%
Cross has been asked to assume a truly versatile role this season in Washington, which aligns with his ascendence in Indianapolis, where he played roughly the same percentage of snaps in the box as he did at free safety a season ago.
After Week 2’s game against the Cowboys, Cross stayed at a local Dallas hospital for an undisclosed internal injury but returned to the field in Week 6. He’s played at least 54 snaps in all four games he’s been available for to date on the Commanders defense.
In those contests, he has 22 tackles and four tackles for loss. He’s allowed 10 of 11 targets in his coverage area to be completed but only for 69 yards with one touchdown.
How he’d fit with Bills
I had a draft crush on Cross coming out of Maryland. He was an absolute missile to the football in coverage, both against the run and the pass. While not necessarily built to follow intricate separators underneath, he felt like a new-age safety who could lay the lumber on outside runs and screens as well as fly to the football downfield to make plays on it.
Full disclosure here too — I built a predictive NFL Draft algorithm in the summer of 2022 called Reverse Engineered Scouting Index Number (RESIN). Within the RESIN system that spans from the 2018 to 2026 draft classes, Cross has the ninth-highest safety RESIN among 213 safeties.
If he were to be traded to the Bills, I assume Jim Leonhard would allow him to mostly play free safety while Cole Bishop remained close to the line of scrimmage frequently… and that’d be ideal for Cross. Ideal for both of them, really.
At free safety, Cross’ 4.34 speed in coverage would be accentuated. He could regularly watch the quarterback’s eyes and erupt to the football.
Plus, he’s a quality tackler and has demonstrated the ability to be a high-volume tackling type in the secondary. His career missed tackle rate is a respectable 11.2% and just 8.3% entering Week 9 this season.
Financial obligation for Bills to trade for him
2026 salary: $3.05M
If the Bills trade for Cross after Week 9, they’d be on the hook for $1.525M in prorated 2026 base salary plus a grand total of $270,000 in possible per-game roster bonuses. Altogether $1.795M. Buffalo has roughly $4M in 2026 space currently, so they could add Cross to their books without any financial issues.
In 2027, his base salary is $5.55M with an additional workout and per-game bonuses that would bring his cap hit to a very reasonable $6.25M.
Projected cost to acquire
Using Syndicate32.com’s trade machine, the projected cost to trade for Cross is a mid fourth-round pick in 2027.
I can’t imagine Cross, who only garnered a contract worth $6.5M in APY netting Washington a fourth-round pick after he played four games for them, yet his steady improvement in Indianapolis could keep his price in this range.
Should the Bills trade for Nick Cross?
The announcement of this trade would hardly move the needle from an optics perspective. But I really like the idea of it because of what Cross would bring this defense.
He’s a super-fast, rangy, quality tackler who plays with an edge and is only 25 years old without a bloated cap hit next season.
And on this Bills team, he likely wouldn’t be asked to split his snaps into thirds between managing the slot, playing free safety, and acting as a linebacker in the box… although he’s proven to be capable of carrying out all those duties reasonably well.
Is Cross an All-Pro caliber player? Of course not.
But at his age, with his athleticism, and given what he’s shown over the past two plus seasons, there’s still plenty of potential within Cross, probably about as much as a team could find at the trade deadline for a player in his fourth NFL season.
If the Bills could get this done for a fourth or fifth-round pick, I’d be giddy about the move. He’d make the Bills better instantly, raising the floor of the other safety position, and he can act as a mentor for Jalon Kilgore and Jordan Hancock as they continue to develop early in their respective Bills careers.
