Tennessee Titans: 5 Speedy wide receivers to potentially add
By John Laird
4. John Ross, Cincinnati Bengals
Corey Davis wasn’t the only first-round wide receiver who the Titans were looking at in 2017, as the team had a lot of face time with Washington product John Ross in that pre-draft process. Like Davis, Ross’ fifth-year option was also recently declined by the Cincinnati Bengals, making him a free agent after the 2020 season.
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After breaking the record for the fastest 40-yard dash in NFL Combine history, Ross has had an injury-filled career thus far. Only suiting up for 24 games over the course of his three-year career, it’s easy to see why the Bengals decided to decline his option.
With that said, the potential is certainly there, which was on display early in the 2019 season where Ross racked up over 500 yards in the first eight games of the season.
Cincinnati is officially entering a new era of football led by reigning Heisman Trophy winner and the first overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, Joe Burrow. This could lead to the Bengals looking to clean house as we get closer to the season so the team could be able to surround Burrow with more sufficient talent down the line.
After spending the 33rd pick on Clemson pass-catcher Tee Higgins, the wide receiver room for the Bengals is suddenly pretty crowded. Superstar A.J. Green is still on the roster and Tyler Boyd has also been productive for the team. This certainly makes Ross expandable as Cincinnati would rather receive a late-round pick rather than allow the speedster to walk for nothing.
If a trade were to happen in this scenario, there would be at least the financial aspect here to consider. As a former top-10 pick still on his rookie deal, John Ross certainly isn’t worth his current cap hit ($5.5 million). The Bengals taking on the majority of his 2020 salary would realistically be the only way for the team to get any return on Ross before his almost certain departure in free agency next year.