Winston Rose (born November 29, 1993) 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 ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

who is a

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 ...

. He was most recently a member of the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). Rose won the

107th Grey Cup The 107th Grey Cup decided the champion of the 2019 season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The match was played on November 24, 2019, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. Win ...

with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. He played

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for the

New Mexico State Aggies The New Mexico State University teams are called the Aggies, a nickname derived from the university's agricultural beginnings. The mascot is known as " Pistol Pete". NMSU's colors are crimson and white. Since 2023 the Aggies have competed in Co ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Rose was originally signed 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 ...

by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

of the

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(NFL) in May 2016, but was released shortly after.

Indianapolis Colts

After his release, Rose signed with 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 ...

. He played in three pre-season games with the Colts, but was released.

Toronto Argonauts

Rose then signed by the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

to their practice roster on September 19, 2016. He was re-signed during the following off-season and began the 2017 season on the Argonauts' practice roster.

Ottawa Redblacks (first stint)

He was released in July. Shortly after his release, Rose signed to the

' practice roster on July 24, 2017. Rose played in his first professional regular season game on September 29, 2017, against the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

where he recorded five defensive tackles. He was re-signed by the Redblacks after the end of the season, only to be released by the team on March 7, 2018.

BC Lions

Rose was then signed by the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

on March 9, 2018, and played in all 18 games that season and recorded 32 defensive tackles and five interceptions. Rose became a free agent following the season's end.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (first stint)

In the offseason, Rose signed with the

on February 13, 2019. He played and started in all 18 regular season games, recording 58 defensive tackles and a league-leading nine interceptions, returning one for his first career touchdown. For his dominant season, he was named a West Division All-Star and CFL All-Star for the first time in his career.

Cincinnati Bengals

On December 31, 2019, Rose signed a reserve/future contract with the

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 ...

of the NFL. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on October 24 for the team's week 7 game against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was placed on the practice squad/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on November 11, and activated back to the practice squad on November 25. He was elevated to the active roster again for the week 17 game against the

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 ...

, and reverted to the practice squad again following the game. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. On August 31, 2021, Rose was waived by the Bengals and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 6.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (second stint)

On October 20, 2021, it was announced that Rose had re-signed with the Blue Bombers. He played in three regular season games and had five defensive tackles. He also played and started in the

108th Grey Cup The 108th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2021 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled and the start of the 2021 season was delayed, pushing the game to December 12, 2021. The ...

game where he had four defensive tackles in the Blue Bombers' repeat victory over the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. In

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Rose played in 17 regular season games where he recorded 66 defensive tackles, three interceptions, and one forced fumble. In the

109th Grey Cup The 109th Grey Cup decided the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2022 CFL season, 2022 season. The game was played on November 20, at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan. It marked the fourth Grey Cup game to be held in Regin ...

, he had five defensive tackles, but the Blue Bombers lost to the

. In the 2023 season, Rose played in just ten games due to injury as he had 32 defensive tackles and one interception. He was a healthy scratch in the West Final and

110th Grey Cup The 110th Grey Cup was played to determine the Canadian Football League (CFL) champion for the 2023 CFL season, 2023 season. The game was played on November 19, 2023, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, between the West ...

as the Blue Bombers lost to the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

. In the following off-season, he became a

upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.

Ottawa Redblacks (second stint)

On June 11, 2024, it was announced that Rose had signed with the Redblacks to a practice roster agreement. However, he was released just five days later on June 16, 2024.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Winston 1993 births Living people American football defensive backs Canadian football defensive backs Players of American football from Inglewood, California New Mexico State Aggies football players Los Angeles Rams players Indianapolis Colts players Toronto Argonauts players Ottawa Redblacks players BC Lions players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Los Angeles Valley Monarchs football players Cincinnati Bengals players Players of Canadian football from California