The man once labeled as the fastest player in the NFL is officially hanging up his cleats. The Kansas City Chiefs placed wide receiver John Ross reserve/retired list on Wednesday. Ross clocked the fastest time ever in combine history in 2017 but had a rough time staying over his six-year career.
Draft Bust
Ross could possibly be the biggest bust over the last 20 years outside of Jamarcus Russell and Trent Richardson. He clocked a 4.22 in the 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL combine, which broke Chris Johnson’s 4.24 time in 2008. The 5-foot-11 product from the University of Washington was selected ninth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent four seasons with the Bengals but only appeared in 27 games. He appeared in three games as a rookie and had no receptions.
The speedster appeared in his most games (13) in 2018, but had his best season in 2019. He had 28 receptions, 506 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. Ross also recorded back-to-back games of 100 receiving yards or more in weeks 1 and 2 of the 2019 season. Both were the best two games of his career.
No Comeback
In 2021, Ross seemed to be putting things together to be a more consistent NFL player. He played in 10 games for the Giants and record the second-most receiving yards for a season in his career with 224 yards and averaged 20.4 yards per catch. He showed flashes of the speed that had NFL teams drooling over him ahead of the draft in 2017.
After sitting out all last season, he signed a futures/reserve contract with the Chiefs in January. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid figured if he paired Ross with Patrick Mahomes then he could possibly revitalize his career and be a deep threat in their offense like we’ve seen with Tyreek Hill and Kadarius Toney.
