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), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

wide receiver 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. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in 2011. He played college football at

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. Ross has also been 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

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) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

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

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

, New York Jets, 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, an ...

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 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 Radio City Music Hall in New York ...

. 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 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) 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 of the league's National ...

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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

' 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-born television host, American football commentator, and former wide receiver. He played college football for the University of Nevada, Reno and was drafted into the National Foot ...

. 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

, 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 football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...

, 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

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 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 New York Jets 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 Cardinals. 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 bioDetroit Lions bioIndianapolis Colts bioNew England Patriots bioESPN Player Stats
{{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