Nick Scott (American football)
American football player (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nicholas Michael Scott (born May 17, 1995) is an American professional football safety for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL draft.[2]
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Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1]
Scott with the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2018 | |||||||||||||
| No. 21 – Carolina Panthers | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Safety | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | May 17, 1995 Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1] | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Fairfax (VA) | ||||||||||||
| College | Penn State (2014–2018) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2019: 7th round, 243rd overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||
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College career
Scott started his redshirt freshman year at Penn State as a multi-purpose running back, rushing for 133 yards, catching 4 passes for 43 yards, and returning 13 kickoffs for 310. The following season, he was converted to cornerback. He spent most of the season as a backup, but also returned 6 kickoffs for 138 yards. In his final two seasons, he settled into his permanent position as a safety. As a senior, he recorded 65 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, and tied for the team lead with 3 interceptions.[3]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+3⁄4 in (1.80 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 31 in (0.79 m) | 8+1⁄2 in (0.22 m) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 4.45 s | 1.53 s | 2.56 s | 4.20 s | 7.02 s | 41.0 in (1.04 m) | 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m) | 18 reps |
| All values from Pro Day[4] | ||||||||||||
Los Angeles Rams
2019
Scott was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round (243rd overall) of the 2019 NFL draft.[5] He made his first career offensive reception on a 23-yard fake punt pass from Rams punter Johnny Hekker in a 37–10 win over the Atlanta Falcons during the 2019 season.[6]
2020
Scott was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Rams on December 18, 2020.[7] He was re-activated on December 22.[8]
2021
Scott made his first career interception during the Rams' win at Seattle on October 7, 2021.[9] He became the Rams' starting strong safety for their playoff run after a season-ending injury to Jordan Fuller in the Rams' Week 18 game against the San Francisco 49ers. Scott made his first career postseason interception during the Rams' 30–27 victory in the Divisional Round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[10] Scott helped the Rams reach Super Bowl LVI where they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23–20 with Scott recording 2 tackles in the game.[11]
2022
Scott was named the starting free safety for the 2022 season. On January 7, 2023, Scott was placed on injured reserve.[12] He finished the season with a career-high 86 tackles, two interceptions, five passes defensed, and two forced fumbles through 16 starts.
Cincinnati Bengals
On March 20, 2023, Scott signed a three-year contract with the Bengals.[13] He was named the starting strong safety to begin the season.[14] In Week 9 against the Buffalo Bills, Scott make an aggressive tackle on Bills' tight end Dalton Kincaid that led to Kincaid dropping the football. Scott scooped the ball up for his first career fumble recovery early in the 4th quarter. The Bengals went on to win the game with a score of 24–18.[15]
Scott was benched in favor of rookie Jordan Battle early in the Bengals' Week 11 contest against the Baltimore Ravens after missing nine tackles.[16] Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo named Battle the starter for the remainder of the season ahead of their matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers the following week, relegating Scott to a substitution role in the defense.[17]
On March 13, 2024, Scott was released by the Bengals.[18]
Carolina Panthers
2024
On March 22, 2024, Scott signed with the Carolina Panthers.[19] He played in 10 games with four starts, recording 30 tackles and two passes defensed.[20]
2025
On March 22, 2025, Scott re-signed with the Panthers on a one-year deal.[21] He was named the starting free safety in 2025, starting all 17 games while recording a career-high 111 tackles (second on the team), three passes defensed, and one interception.
2026
On March 14, 2026, Scott re-signed with the Panthers on a one-year contract worth up to $3.25 million.[22]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | FF | Fum | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2019 | LAR | 16 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | LAR | 15 | 0 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | LAR | 17 | 1 | 47 | 28 | 19 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | LAR | 16 | 16 | 86 | 56 | 30 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | CIN | 17 | 10 | 57 | 35 | 22 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | CAR | 10 | 4 | 30 | 16 | 14 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | CAR | 17 | 17 | 111 | 64 | 47 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 108 | 48 | 355 | 216 | 139 | 0.0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0.6 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
