LANDOVER — Rashad Ross has been cut by four teams, including the Washington Redskins. His performance on Thursday night in the Redskins’ preseason finale suggests he doesn’t want to go through that again.
Ross caught 10 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown, a 19-yard grab with 4:39 left in the first quarter, in the 17-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. All told, Ross finished his preseason with 266 yards and four touchdowns, leading the league in both categories, on 25 catches.
“Being cut, just sitting at home, wondering like, ’Why me all the time?’” Ross said. “I just looked in the mirror. Can’t be nobody else’s [fault], If more than one team cut me, it’s got to be me, know what I’m saying? At the end of the day, I’ve got to change.”
Ross went undrafted out of Arizona State in 2013 and signed with the Tennessee Titans, who cut him when initial 53-man rosters were finalized. He latched on with the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad two months later and stuck around through mini-camp, at which point they cast him aside.
The Redskins signed Ross the next week and let him go when rosters were trimmed to 75 players last August, and he landed with the Chicago Bears, with whom he played in two games as a return specialist. He was cut in October, returned to the Redskins’ practice squad, was cut in November and returned in December.
“Last year, he was kind of moving around a little bit,” coach Jay Gruden said. “He was unclear of where to go, how to line up, what routes to run. Just not sure. Now, he’s got a lot more confidence as far as his mental capacity is concerned. He’s doing a great job.”
Ross said he linked up with teammate DeSean Jackson’s trainers in the offseason, learning how to use his speed and come out of his breaks more cleanly. He also spent time in training camp catching extra passes from Colt McCoy, which he said has been equally crucial to his development.
His path to the 53-man roster remains unclear. The Redskins have three top receivers in Jackson, Pierre Garçon and Andre Roberts, plus Ryan Grant, who was a rookie last year, and fourth-round pick Jamison Crowder. Evan Spencer, a sixth-round draftee, is also in the conversation, but a concussion sustained in the preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday complicates his status.
The constant back-and-forth wouldn’t make being cut easier to take, but at least this time, Ross believes he’s made his case to stick around.
“I’m satisfied, because at the end of the day, I gave it my all,” Ross said. “If I don’t make the team [or] if I do make the team, I gave it my all, so I can keep my head up high and walk away.”
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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