Washington Redskins: The Emergence of Rashad Ross

Rashad Ross came into the NFL undrafted and was signed by the Tennessee Titans in 2013. From there, he bounced around the league with the Titans, Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins. He was signed, cut and put on three of the four teams' practice squads in a two year period. He now has found a home with the Redskins and the Arizona State product has been producing in an increased role with DeSean Jackson out with a hamstring injury.

According to the Washington Post's Master Tesfatsion, Ross gave credit to his work ethic when explaining his journey.

"Just think about all my hard work I put in, all the times I’ve been cut, bouncing around, and it’s actually paying off," Ross said. "All the hard work, all the times that I thought I wasn’t going to be here, I’m here."

Ross has a familiarity with the Redskins, they know him and he felt that it contributed to the short stints with the Titans and Chiefs.

"I felt like that situation didn’t work out because I wasn’t there the whole time," said Ross, who cracked the 53-man roster out of training camp this season for the first time. "They didn’t really know me.  They were just throwing me in and just seeing what’s going to happen. I think it’ll be different here because I’ve been here the whole time and all the players know me, all the blockers know me. I’m more comfortable. There it was, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’ve just got to try and do something.’

It was really no surprise that he made the 53-man roster after a stellar preseason performance. He led the team in catches, yards and touchdowns with 25, 266 and four respectively. Two touchdowns came by way of Colt McCoy. What's important to note here is that he has the support the man he is replacing for the moment according to Redskins.com's Jake Kring-Schreifels.

"He’s a young guy, but he has a lot of talent," Jackson said. "So he’s just got to continue to do what he’s been doing all offseason. When your number is called, making a play and spark the team up with energy by making a play that guys of our stature do, guys that can make the big plays down the field that bring energy to the team. As long as he’s able to do that, I think he’ll be alright."

It's still early in this young wide receiver's career but he'll have plenty more opportunities to prove that he was worthy of the investment the Redskins have in him.