Report: New England Patriots Held Onto Quick Undersized Wide Receiver

The New England Patriots will need to add depth to the wide receiver position. It looks like the organization liked Devin Ross, and decided to size him to a future contract.

New England added Ross to the practice squad Oct. 15. He hasn’t played with a team since the Philadelphia Eagles cut him before the beginning of the training camp.

Ross went undrafted out of Colorado in 2018. He was able to catch 143 passes for 1,643 yards with nine touchdowns in four college seasons. The wide receiver also had seven carries for 34 yards and returned five kicks for 107 yards. His best college season came in 2016. In that season, Ross caught 69 passes for 787 yards with five touchdowns.

He 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 (2018).

Ross would be a great addition to the Patriots wide receiver unit

Ross may be New England’s biggest long shot to make the active roster in September. He will have to compete with Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski and Quincy Adeboyejo for snaps and roster spots. Of course, Ross isn’t as experienced as these players. The Patriots may also bring in more players at this position. These players can end up on the roster through free agency, trade or the NFL draft.

Ross has to impress the Patriots during OTAs, minicamp, training camp and the preseason in order to get a roster spot. He is an undersized wide receiver and his straight-line speed isn’t really great. His agility and speed are probably his best selling points. Running a sub-7-second 3-cone drill is really great, and so is his 1.56-second 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash.

The Patriots will have to play wisely this offseason. They didn’t have much luck with their wide receivers in 2019. Hopefully, this will change in the next few months. Tom Brady’s pending free agency is still an issue.