All the starters go Thursday Ross out

[*ochocincos*]

(08-19-2019, 06:13 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: Regardless of word, he's injured way too much and his production isn't nearly as much as it should be for a #9 pick, short of 7 TDs last year. Which is, honestly, pretty mediocre for such a high draft pick.

That's fair, but once again it's not his fault he was drafted that high. That's the Bengals' fault. The dude was a game changer when on the field at Washington. He had 81 receptions and 18 TDs his final year. They knew how to utilize his skill set properly.

What can't be disputed:
- Ross's injuries have kept him from the field thus far
- Ross hiding his injury his rookie year didn't help matters
- Ross's lack of availability has limited his ability to learn the offense enough that he still had (has?) mishaps when actually on the field.

Regarding using injury though as for a reason why a player wasn't worth a 1st round pick, I think that's unfair. Would you say the same about Eifert? Eifert wasn't some perennial 700+ yard TE in his rookie deal. His career has been derailed by injuries too. But his talent justified a 1st round pick. You'll never know if or when injuries occur. And yes, I've criticized Eifert staying healthy, but that was in regards to re-signing him, not about cutting him during his rookie contract.

I guess here's my ultimate stance. John Ross still counts just over $10 mill against the cap the next two years whether he's cut or not. At this point, his stock is so low that there's not really any value in trading him. If he doesn't blossom by the end of his rookie deal, then there's no reason to re-sign him and the Bengals can move on. And with next year's crop of WRs in the draft, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Bengals go with a WR on Day 1 or Day 2 if Ross doesn't blossom by the end of this season.