Justyn Ross was considered to be a potential undrafted steal when the Chiefs signed him after the 2022 NFL Draft concluded. Kansas City will have to wait until 2023 to see if that narrative proves true.
On Monday, the Chiefs placed Ross on injured reserve, ending his rookie season before it began.
Ross is still dealing with complications from a foot injury he suffered during his final season at Clemson. He had surgery on his injured foot in November of 2021 but recently had a second surgery to further correct the malady, as Chiefs coach Andy Reid explained on Friday.
"It was a little bit off of the surgery he had before. It wasn’t functioning quite the way [he wanted]," Reid explained, per Sports Illustrated. "It was bothering him. It wasn’t working quite the way he wanted it, so they went in and re-did it. And we’re hoping this works out well."
Initially, the Chiefs had planned to place Ross on the PUP list to give him a chance to return during the 2022 NFL season if he got healthy. However, they reversed course and elected to place him on IR to allow him time to fully heal.
As such, Ross will have to wait to make his NFL debut. The waiting game is something to which he is no stranger after the handful of serious injuries he dealt with at Clemson.
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Justyn Ross injury history
When Ross broke onto the scene with Clemson in 2018, he looked like a potential first-round pick. The 6-4, 205-pound receiver served as one of Trevor Lawrence's top targets and racked up 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns on just 46 catches as a true freshman.
Ross had the size, speed and playmaking ability needed to be a potential No. 1 receiver at the NFL level. Unfortunately, injuries began to take a big-time toll on him ahead of the 2020 college football season.
Ahead of the 2020 season, Ross was diagnosed with congenital fusion in his spine — two of his vertebrae were fused together and had limited mobility — that required surgery. He missed the entire season as a result of that procedure and there were questions about whether he would be able to play again.
Ross was eventually cleared for football activities and returned to the field in 2021. He caught 46 passes for the Tigers, this time generating 514 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games.
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Ross dealt with a couple of injury problems during his final year at Clemson. He suffered a concussion in Week 5 against Boston College — which was a concern considering that he was still recovering from the congenital fusion surgery in his neck — and later suffered a stress fracture in a November game against UConn. The latter ended his college career and has lingered into the NFL.
All told, Ross' injury history is as follows, per Draft Sharks:
| Date | Injury | Details |
| Nov. 16, 2019 | Rib/chest | Ross suffers a rib/chest bruise but doesn't miss time. |
| May 21, 2020 | Neck/spine | Ross misses the 2020 college football season after surgically repairing congenital fusion in his spine. |
| Oct. 2, 2021 | Concussion | Ross is knocked out of Clemson's Week 5 matchup against Boston College with a concussion. He doesn't miss any additional games. |
| Nov. 13, 2021 | Foot | Ross suffers a stress fracture in his foot vs. UConn, ending his collegiate career. |
That's not necessarily the longest list of injuries, but the neck and foot injuries were both severe. That was enough to drop him to the ranks of the undrafted; and now that he is set to miss his first full NFL season because of the foot problem, it's worth wondering if teams were right to worry about his status.
