D'Angelo Julius Skyler Ross (born October 29, 1996) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He has previously played in the NFL for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

New Mexico Lobos The New Mexico Lobos are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999 ...

College career

Fullerton College

Ross attended his first two years of college at Fullerton before transferring to New Mexico. In 25 career games at Fullerton, Ross had 8 interceptions and was named first-team All-SCFA National Division during his sophomore season.

New Mexico

Ross played the final two seasons of his college career at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

, appearing in 24 games. In his junior campaign, Ross had 28 total tackles and 11 pass deflections. In his senior season, he improved to 57 total tackles with 6 pass deflections, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble. Ross was not invited to the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, but posted an impressive 4.32 second 40 yard dash at New Mexico's pro day.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Ross was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2019. He was placed on injured reserve on August 12, 2019. On September 5, 2020, Ross was waived by the team and signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on January 2, 2021, for the team's week 17 game against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. On August 31, 2021, Ross was waived by the Patriots and re-signed to the practice squad.

Miami Dolphins

On January 25, 2022, Ross signed a reserve/future contract with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. He was

waived/injured The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

on August 29, 2022 and placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 1. In November 2022, Ross was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks in the 2023 XFL draft.

Houston Texans

On November 22, 2022, Ross was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 10, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Ross was waived by the Texans, and re-signed to the practice squad on September 21. He was promoted to the active roster on October 18. Ross was waived by the Texans on October 23 and re-signed to their practice squad the next day. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 4. On July 18, 2024, Ross was placed on the active/ physically unable to perform (PUP) list. He was released on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad. Ross was promoted to the active roster on September 18. He was waived on November 9, and re-signed to the practice squad. In the

Wild Card Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

game against the

Chargers Charger or Chargers may refer to: * Charger (table setting), decorative plates used to enhance a place setting * Battery charger, a device used to put energy into a cell or battery * Capacitor charger, typically a high voltage DC power supply des ...

on January 11, 2025, Ross returned a blocked PAT all the way back for a defensive two point conversion, the first time such a play has occurred in the playoffs.

Personal life

Ross was born to Daniel and Wendy Ross and is one of five children. Ross graduated with a degree in business administration in December 2018 from the

References

External links

Houston Texans bioNew Mexico Lobos football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, DAngelo 1996 births Living people American football cornerbacks New Mexico Lobos football players People from La Puente, California Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California New England Patriots players Miami Dolphins players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen