Nasir Adderley surprisingly walked away from the NFL at 25 years old in March 2023. At the time, the safety was coming off his fourth season with the Los Angeles Chargers, who selected him out of Delaware in second round of the 2019 draft.
In the three years since, Adderley has felt the itch to play again, and, so, in February, he announced his intent to return to the league.
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Adderley took the first step toward completing his NFL comeback on Tuesday, signing with the Indianapolis Colts.
“It’s now been three years since I left the NFL, and I am extremely happy with my development,” Adderley, now 28, wrote in a Feb. 9 Instagram post. “Health, family and entrepreneurship were my top priorities, and I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish.
“The freedom to manage my own schedule was very important to me, but what I didn’t realize was how much I’d miss having football in my life. The competition, the brotherhood and just being involved in the game that means so much to me and my family.”
The Colts recently put Adderley through a workout, according to ESPN, which reported Tuesday that team officials were impressed by how well Adderley performed in that session.
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His signing gives him a chance to compete for a roster spot this offseason, and it affords Indianapolis some more depth in the secondary ahead of camp.
The Colts previously brought aboard two other free-agent safeties: Juanyeh Thomas and Jonathan Owens. Thomas spent the past three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, whereas Owens played for the Chicago Bears from 2024-25, his latest stop in a career that started to take form in Houston with the Texans.
Indianapolis has an opening at strong safety, where there’s a void left by former starter Nick Cross, who signed with the Washington Commanders in free agency.
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That said, according to The Athletic, the Colts are simply taking a flier on Adderley. It’s a low-risk signing with high upside.
Adderley starred at Delaware, then in the FCS, before starting 44 games for the Chargers from 2019-22, including at least 14 games in each of his final three seasons with the team.
He missed most of his rookie season with a hamstring injury but came back to establish a consistence presence in the Chargers’ back end, rounding out his four-season stint with 232 total tackles — including 168 solos — 12 passes defended, 3 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.
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Adderley’s final go-around in L.A. came with its challenges. He was replaced as a starter in Week 5 of the 2022 campaign and, long after earning his job back, played limited snaps in a wild-card playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After three years away, Adderley’s getting a fresh start with the Colts.
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