The Kansas City Chiefs have finally learned the fate of wide receiver Justyn Ross after over a month of having him linger on the NFL Commissioner's Exemption List. On Friday, it was announced that the league had decided to suspend Ross for six total games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Ross was charged earlier this year with a felony for criminal damage and a misdemeanor charge for domestic battery. Since then, he's entered into a legal diversionary program. You can read all about what the diversionary program means for Ross here and his legal future.
Given that Ross has already spent so much time on the Exemption List, ESPN reporter Adam Schefter notes that Ross has technically already served five of those six games. Given that Ross will sit out this week's game as well, the Chiefs can welcome back Ross to the active roster for the stretch run following the completion of the team's game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 14.
No one knows for sure what the Chiefs will want to do here. Will they welcome Ross back with open arms? Will they want to cut ties? Nothing is official yet, but reading the tea leaves, it makes sense for a reunion to take place since K.C. could have easily released the young wideout along the way after news broke of his arrest in the first place.
For those who want to believe that Ross's arrival back on the field could help the Chiefs woes at wide receiver, you should keep those hopes to a minimum. Not only has Ross not played a single game in a month-and-a-half, but he also only caught 3 of 6 targets for 34 total yards in the first seven games of the season. This was always a long-term play for the Chiefs to slowly develop him, and Ross's return now will still feature a minimal role—if the Chiefs keep him around.
That said, Ross showed strong potential in the preseason and he was a heartening story in the preseason to even make the team's active roster in the first place. For Ross's sake, here's hoping he can complete the diversionary program and put all of this behind him while remaining a productive player for the Chiefs—or another team if that's how things turn out.
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