Wide receiver John Ross first came into the NFL as one of the most exciting prospects at his position with the sort of top speed that made general managers salivate at the offensive potential. At this point, Ross is now hoping for just one of those general managers to pick up the phone and give him another shot at furthering his professional career.
Earlier this week, the Kansas City Chiefs granted Ross his requested release from the reserve/retired list. According to NFL reporter Mike Garafolo, Ross is ready to try to make another comeback in 2023 and needed his freedom from the Chiefs in order to pursue that dream.
The Chiefs brought in Ross this past offseason in order to see what was left in the tank for Ross after a rocky start to his career with both the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants. However, the competition at wideout was far too great and Ross was easily beaten out by other players. He wasn't even the most exciting Ross on the team.
Coming into the league, Ross set a new NFL Combine record for the 40-yard dash, a drill in which Ross put up an incredible time of 4.22 seconds, breaking former NFL running back Chris Johnson's old record. The potential was enough to make the Bengals bite at No. 9 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft—just one spot before the Chiefs traded up to get quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
From the beginning of his Bengals career, Ross was a letdown. His only touch during his entire rookie year went for a fumble, and his career totals over four seasons affected by injuries as well as being in the coach's doghouse amount to 51 catches for 733 yards and 10 touchdowns. Those are pitiful totals for a four-year span as a top-10 drafted player.
The Giants came calling in 2022 and Ross added 11 catches in 10 games played as a rarely utilized option on offense.
If Ross has a selling point, it's that he just turned 28 years old, so there's still reason for some teams to try to believe in the potential. Now that he's free from the Chiefs officially, other teams can check in on him if they would like. e