Jeremy Spencer Ross (born March 16, 1988) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2011. 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 ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Ross was also a member of the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

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

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

Professional career

New England Patriots

Ross signed with the

on July 25, 2011, after going unselected in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

. The Patriots released him on August 30 for final roster cuts before the start the regular season.

Indianapolis Colts

The

signed Ross 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 ...

on September 28, 2011. He was released by the Colts on August 31, 2012.

Green Bay Packers

The

signed Ross to their practice squad on October 17, 2012. He was promoted to the team's active roster on December 1. He committed a crucial muff on a punt return in a playoff-game loss to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

on January 12, 2013, which resulted in a 49ers' touchdown. Ross was released by the Packers on September 23, 2013, after committing a crucial fumble on a kickoff in the first quarter of the previous day's game, which led to a

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

' touchdown. He played in eight regular-season games for the Packers over the past two seasons, averaged 17.9 yards on nine kickoff returns, 20.5 yards on six punt returns and made one catch for 8 yards.

Detroit Lions

Ross was signed to the practice squad of the

on October 7, 2013. He was promoted off the Lions' practice squad to the active roster on October 19, 2013, following an injury to wide receiver

Nate Burleson Nathaniel Eugene Burleson (born August 19, 1981) is a Canadian-American television host, football commentator, and former football player. He played professionally as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Playing college footba ...

. Since signing, he has played a role as a slot receiver and kick returner. He contributed to the Lions' 40-10 Thanksgiving Day victory over his former team, the Packers, on November 28, 2013. In that game, he scored his first career NFL touchdown on a 5-yard pass from

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Georg ...

, and he had one run for 24 yards to pick up a first down. Since signing off the practice squad he has recorded 5 receptions for 59 yards and 1 touchdown, 1 run for 24 yards, 8 punt returns for 159 yards, and 10 kickoff returns for 335 yards. During a game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

on December 8, 2013, Ross scored touchdowns on both a punt return and a kickoff return. This made him the first Lions player to do so since

Eddie Payton Edward Charles Payton Jr. (born August 3, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and kick returner for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) from 1977 to 1982 for the Cleveland Browns, Detro ...

on December 17, 1977. On April 20, 2015, the Detroit Lions signed Ross to an exclusive-rights free agent tender. On September 5, 2015, Ross was among final roster cuts before the start of the 2015 season.

Baltimore Ravens

On September 7, 2015, Ross was signed to the

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 10, 2015. On November 17, he was waived by the Ravens.

Oakland Raiders

On November 19, 2015, Ross was signed to the

' practice squad. On November 25, 2015, Ross was signed to the active roster.

New York Jets

Ross signed with the

on April 6, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Jets. He was re-signed on September 29, 2016. He was released on October 11, 2016. He was re-signed by the Jets on November 22, 2016. He was released again on December 6, 2016.

Arizona Cardinals

On December 14, 2016, Ross was signed by the

. In two games with the Cardinals, Ross caught 4 passes for 37 yards, including one touchdown. It was his first touchdown since September 28, 2014 over two years earlier when Ross scored as a member of the Lions against the Jets. On February 27, 2017, Ross signed a one-year contract extension with the Cardinals. He was released on September 2, 2017.

References

External links

California Golden Bears bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Jeremy 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Sacramento, California American football wide receivers American football return specialists California Golden Bears football players New England Patriots players Indianapolis Colts players Green Bay Packers players Detroit Lions players Baltimore Ravens players Oakland Raiders players New York Jets players Arizona Cardinals players