INDIANAPOLIS— The first few waves of free agency have created another glaring need for the Colts defense this offseason.
Indianapolis already needed an overhaul at defensive end and linebacker.
Now, the Colts need a safety.
Starting strong safety Nick Cross left for a two-year deal in Washington on Wednesday, and the team’s top backup, Rodney Thomas II, is now signing with the Seahawks, a league source confirmed to IndyStar.
Thomas played 150 defensive snaps for Indianapolis last season, making 21 tackles while spending most of his time as an extra deep safety in three-safety packages.
Drafted in the seventh round out of Yale in 2022, Thomas stepped into the starting free safety job halfway through his rookie season and led the Colts with four interceptions, but his play fell off as a starter in 2023, and he lost the job to Nick Cross late in the season.
He’s been a depth piece since then, playing just 248 total defensive snaps in 2024 and 2025 after taking 1,618 in his first two seasons in the league.
But Thomas’s departure is significant mainly because it further highlights the team’s need at safety. When the Colts allowed Cross to leave for the Commanders in free agency, Indianapolis created a hole, and the loss of Thomas further deepens the need.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo prioritizes versatility in his personnel, hoping to be able to give opposing quarterbacks as many different looks as possible, and the safeties play a big role in the defense’s flexibility, even though Cross and star free safety Camryn Bynum each played more than 95% of the snaps in 2025.
Anarumo would like to tap into Bynum’s versatility more. Bynum, a ballhawk of a free safety, can also create problems for offenses by sliding down into the box to cover running backs and tight ends, and he has the ability to cover slot receivers out of the nickel.
Cross, a thumper who played his best football against the run, limited Anarumo’s ability to move Bynum around; playing Thomas in certain situations allowed Anarumo to be more versatile.
With both of those players now moving to teams in the NFC, Indianapolis is going to have to add to the position.
Indianapolis has few experienced options internally.
The Colts like Hunter Wohler, a seventh-round pick from last year who was headed for a rotation role defensively before suffering a season-ending Lisfranc injury in a preseason game against the Packers. A physical presence who showed a nose for the ball in training camp, Wohler’s another player who provides versatility. Before the injury, Anarumo was going to play Wohler at linebacker in his dime packages, effectively allowing the Colts to get seven defensive backs on the field in obvious passing situations.
But Wohler must now prove himself all over again, and outside of Bynum, the other safeties on the roster have combined to play a total of 125 defensive snaps in their careers.
One of those players, though, is intriguing.
Indianapolis claimed rookie safety Reuben Lowery off waivers from the Ravens in early October. Undrafted out of Chattanooga last year, Lowery surprisingly made Baltimore’s roster out of training camp, then played 36 defensive snaps before the Ravens decided to make him available to the rest of the NFL.
The Colts scooped him up, and even though he was never active, Lowery stayed on the Indianapolis active roster all season long as a developmental piece.
Even with Wohler and Lowery in the fold as developmental players, though, Indianapolis likely needs to add at least two safeties, including one who can compete for the starting job at strong safety. The Colts have time, and there are still safeties available on the open market who could step into Cross’s shoes.
But the Colts have to make a move, and that means there’s another position open for business as Indianapolis tries to get younger and faster on defense.
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts lose another safety in free agency; what happens next?
Reporting by Joel A. Erickson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
