The New England Patriots must have liked what they saw out of wide receiver Devin Ross last season. They signed the undersized practice squad wide receiver to a futures contract last month.
The Patriots added Ross to their practice squad Oct. 15. He had been out of the league since July when he was released by the Philadelphia Eagles before training camp began.
The 24-year-old initially went undrafted out of Colorado in 2018. He caught 143 passes for 1,643 yards with nine touchdowns in four college seasons. He also registered seven carries for 34 yards and returned five kicks for 107 yards. His best college season came in 2016 when he caught 69 passes for 787 yards with five touchdowns.
Ross wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine but ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at his pro day in 2018. He also ran a 6.94-second 3-cone drill with a 4.23-second short shuttle, 35-inch vertical leap and 10-foot, 3-inch broad jump at 5-foot-9, 192 pounds.
In his lone preseason, Ross caught six passes for 80 yards with the Tennessee Titans in 2018 while primarily lining up outside.
If we’re being completely honest, Ross might be the Patriots’ biggest current long shot to make their 53-man roster in September. He’s competing with fellow wide receivers Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski and Quincy Adeboyejo for snaps and roster spots. He has less experience than all six of those players, and the Patriots certainly will bring in more competition at wide receiver through free agency, the draft or trades.
Ross must seriously impress during OTAs, minicamp, training camp and the preseason to push for a roster spot as an undersized receiver without terrific straight-line speed. Ross’ agility and quickness seem to be his biggest selling points based on his predraft testing numbers. Running a sub-7-second 3-cone drill is impressive, as is his 1.56-second 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash.
Other hidden Patriots: CB D’Angelo Ross, WR Quincy Adeboyejo, WR Gunner Olszewski, OT Yodny Cajuste, QB Cody Kessler, FB Jakob Johnson, S Malik Gant, RB Damien Harris, OT Korey Cunningham, OL Hjalte Froholdt, WR Devin Ross, DE Tashawn Bower, CB Joejuan Williams
