Ross Dwelley (born January 26, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

and signed with the 49ers as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

in 2018.

Early life

Dwelley attended Oak Ridge High School in

El Dorado Hills, California El Dorado Hills (''El Dorado'', Spanish for "The Golden") is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in El Dorado County, California. Located in the Greater Sacramento region of Northern California, it had a population was 50,547 at t ...

, where he played baseball and football. Originally a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

during his first two seasons, Dwelley opted not to play football his junior year to focus on baseball but was convinced by Oak Ridge's football coach to return to the sport for his senior season. After moving to

, Dwelley made 43 catches for 568 receiving yards and five touchdowns and was named the team's offensive MVP.

College career

After redshirting his freshman year, Dwelley appeared in 47 games (44 starts) over the course of four seasons with the Toreros. During that time he totaled 197 receptions for 2,305 yards and 26 touchdowns. Dwelley was named 2nd team All-

Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member s ...

during his sophomore after leading the Toreros with 54 receptions for 580 yards and three touchdowns and again as a junior after catching 70 passes for 843 yards and 10 touchdowns. During his senior season Dwelley had 50 receptions for 663 yards led all

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

tight ends with 10 touchdown receptions, despite missing two games due to injury, and was named first-team All-Pioneer League. Dwelley graduated from USD with a degree in industrial and systems engineering.

Professional career

2018 season

Dwelley signed with the

as an

on April 30, 2018. He was initially cut at the end of training camp and subsequently signed to the team's practice squad. Dwelley was promoted from the practice squad to the 49ers' active roster on October 15, 2018, and made his NFL debut on the same night in a 30–33 road loss to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

on ''Monday Night Football''. Three weeks later, he caught his first NFL pass, an eight-yard reception, in a 34–3 victory over the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. Dwelley finished his rookie year with two catches for 14 yards in 11 games and no starts.

2019 season

Dwelley made his first NFL start during a Week 6 20-7 road victory over the

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

, playing fullback following an injury to starter

Kyle Juszczyk Kyle Patrick Juszczyk ( ; born April 23, 1991) is an American football fullback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Harvard, and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth rou ...

. During a Week 11 36–26 victory over the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, Dwelley scored his first NFL touchdown on a four-yard reception from

Jimmy Garoppolo James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed Jimmy G, is an American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Illinois, where he set the school r ...

. He also scored a second touchdown on a five-yard pass later in the game. Dwelley finished his second professional season with 15 receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games and six starts. The 49ers reached

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...

, but they lost to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

by a score of 31–20.

2020 season

On March 24, 2020, Dwelley was re-signed by the 49ers to a one-year, $660,000 contract. He finished the season with 19 receptions for 245 yards and a touchdown in 16 games and nine starts.

2021 season

Dwelley signed a one-year contract extension with the 49ers on March 5, 2021. He finished the season with four receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown in 17 games and two starts.

2022 season

On March 29, 2022, Dwelley re-signed with the 49ers. During a Week 8 31-14 road victory over the

, he had a career-long 56-yard reception in the fourth quarter. Dwelley finished the season with three receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown in 12 games and no starts.

2023 season

Dwelley re-signed with the 49ers on March 20, 2023.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bioUSD Toreros bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dwelley, Ross 1995 births Living people American football tight ends People from El Dorado Hills, California Players of American football from El Dorado County, California San Diego Toreros football players San Francisco 49ers players Sportspeople from Greater Sacramento