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Justyn Ross Earns Spot on Chiefs' 53-man Roster
Craig McMullen
With the NFL roster cut deadline today at 3 p.m. CT - there’s one Chiefs fan favorite who has made the 53-man roster.
According to The Athletic’s Nate Taylor, second year wide receiver Justyn Ross has reportedly made the 53-man roster.
Justyn Ross, who missed all of last season following a foot surgery, has made the Chiefs initial 53-man roster, per source.
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) August 29, 2023
Ross signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL Draft. He missed his rookie season with a foot injury that he suffered in his final season at Clemson, and he watched the Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII from the sidelines.
Throughout his playing career at Clemson and the 2023 training camp and preseason, Ross has already made some impressive catches before taking a snap in a NFL regular season game. One catch he made was a one-handed catch from quarterback Patrick Mahomes in training camp.
Justyn Ross with a one-handed catch pic.twitter.com/yF4XE7ECus
— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) July 26, 2023
In the 2023 preseason Ross had six catches, 59 yds receiving and two touchdowns. In the preseason finale against the Cleveland Browns, Ross caught a touchdown from quarterback Shane Buechele in the left side of the west end zone.
YOU GOT ROSS'D pic.twitter.com/YOSXNLJdEk
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 26, 2023
Mahomes to Ross connections will be something for Chiefs fans to get used to this season with the young wide receiver room that includes Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, rookie Rashee Rice, Richie James, and Justin Watson.
Ross will see his first snaps in an NFL regular season game when the Chiefs kickoff the 2023 season against the Detroit Lions at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday Sept. 7.
With Rashee Rice or without Rice, the new-look Kansas City Chiefs will get tested early. With the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers, they play their last two AFC Championship game and their last Super Bowl opponent by week seven.
We have known who and where the Chiefs' 2024 opponents are since the conclusion of the 2023 season, but on Wednesday we will find out when. Games get leaked the days leading up to the release, so unless the NFL cleans up some of that, we may know the answers to a lot of questions before Wednesday evening. This morning, for instance, the NFL announced the Baltimore Ravens will be the ones kicking off the NFL season at Arrowhead against the Kansas City Chiefs. Before diving in, let’s check out who the Chiefs have on the docket in 2024 in their quest for a three-peat.
Amid the Rashee Rice uncertainty, general manager Brett Veach is bringing in a former second-round pick and seven-year vet to potentially add to the wide receiver room. Former Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Zay Jones is reportedly visiting with Kansas City on Thursday.
As the great Terez Paylor used to say, “The contract year is undefeated.” The Chiefs have no shortage of players entering a contract year, which was always going to be the case when you have a draft like the one they had in 2021.
If the Chiefs needed to suit up tomorrow, they absolutely could and they would be the odds on Super Bowl favorites doing so. Kansas City, however, has a chance to do something no one has ever done before in winning three Super Bowls in a row. General manager Brett Veach also has more cap space to play with than he normally does at this point in the offseason, so just because he has a largely complete roster does not mean he is done adding.
Each Kansas City Chiefs team has had a definite identity throughout the Patrick Mahomes era. In those six seasons, they have made the AFC Championship game every year and hoisted three Lombardi’s, but no team was made equal. In 2024, when the Chiefs attempt to be the first team in NFL History to win three Super Bowls in a row, it truly feels like both their offense and defense could be top-five units.
I do not envy general Brett Veach who has to dwindle the Kansas City Chiefs roster from 90 to 53 this coming September. When you go through the exercise of making a way too early 53-man roster projection, some players with upside or experience will have to be left off of the roster. At running back, however, it is anybody’s guess who those three or four players will be.
The Chiefs have had quite the offseason in extending their own amid a dynasty. After making Patrick Mahomes the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history by re-working his deal last September, the Chiefs have gone on to extend Chris Jones, Andy Reid, Brett Veach and now Travis Kelce.
The Kansas City Chiefs had quite the NFL Draft haul, especially when you consider the consensus NFL Draft big board. Not only did they lock in two potential starters at their two biggest positional needs, but they were able to select nearly all of their rookies below their projected slots.
Speed is officially back in Kansas City after making a trade with the Buffalo Bills to move up from 32 to pick 28 to select Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy. After the big run on wide receivers never really came, the Chiefs moved up to go get their man, taking the fifth wideout in the 2024 NFL Draft.
