Promising rookie cornerback D’Angelo Ross clears waivers, reverts to Patriots’ injured reserve list

Over the last two days, the New England Patriots made a couple of roster moves. One of the transactions saw the team re-sign third-year offensive tackle Cole Croston to fill a spot vacated due to the release of rookie cornerback D’Angelo Ross. Now, the latter is back with the team: because he was waived with an injury designation and not subsequently picked up on the waiver wire, Ross has reverted to New England’s injured reserve list.

This is a favorable outcome from the Patriots’ perspective as they will now be able to keep Ross around during the 2019 season after a promising start to his first ever training camp. The New Mexico product, who was originally signed by New England as an undrafted free agent in early May, was competitive in 1-on-1 practice reps and also started to get opportunities with the starting secondary in team work.

During the Patriots’ preseason opener against the Detroit Lions, however, he was on the field for just six combined snaps (two on defense, four on special teams). Given the developments over the last two days, it appears as if an injury was the reason for his comparatively low output. This injury — neither the nature nor the severity are known yet — will now keep Ross out until the next season: he is ineligible to be activated off injured reserve this year.

The rookie defender is now the first player New England put on injured reserve this season. As a result, only three teams in the entire league remain that have yet to move somebody to IR: the Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, and Los Angeles Rams did not have any significant injury misfortune so far during camp. That being said, the Patriots can also feel good about the overall physical state of their team even with Ross now out for the season.