Rouse played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies before he was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft.

Rouse was also a member of the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals of the NFL and the Omaha Nighthawks and Virginia Destroyers of the UFL.

[2] Rouse attended First Colonial High School in Virginia where he excelled at many positions, including outside linebacker and wide receiver.

Rouse entered the 2007 NFL draft as one of the top prospects at safety with his unusual combination of size, strength and speed.

The Packers finished the season losing to the New York Giants 23–20 in the NFC championship game, missing out on going to Super Bowl XLII.

Rouse entered the 2008 season as the backup strong safety behind starter Atari Bigby but an injury to Bigby during the Week 2 matchup at Detroit promoted Rouse to starting strong safety for the Packers third game of the season against the Dallas Cowboys and the fourth against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After sustaining a knee injury in the 4th quarter against Tampa Bay, Rouse was inactive for the Packers next contest against the Atlanta Falcons.

Rouse again entered the season as a backup but started in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals in place of the injured Atari Bigby.

[12] Rouse was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants on September 24, 2009 after Kenny Phillips was placed on injured reserve.

After being released by the Cardinals, Rouse signed with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League (UFL) for the 2010 season.

[15] On February 27, 2020, Rouse announced he would run for mayor in the November election, facing incumbent Bobby Dyer.

[17] On March 14, 2022, Rouse announced he would be running for the Virginia State Senate in newly formed District 22 in the 2023 election.

[19] Rouse, a Democrat, narrowly defeated Republican Kevin H. Adams on January 10, 2023, to become the district's senator-elect, flipping the seat.