The Kansas City Chiefs finally cut ties with Justyn Ross after he spent three seasons in Kansas City as the team's most valuable training camp player. He had just six career catches in the NFL and after asking for a release, will get a chance to establish himself in the NFL with another team. Though, with the receiver issues the Chiefs had last season, if he couldn’t find a way on the field and be impactful then, it’s less likely a new team will change that.
Ross played in just one game last year and played in 10 games in 2023. He was a standout at Clemson his freshman season, but an injury halted his potential and he hasn’t been the same player since. This is screaming UFL and at a time where a spring football league exists, it might be his best chance at an NFL comeback.
Even if an NFL team were to take a gamble on him, he hasn’t really given any general manager the indication he could be any more than a practice squad player at best. It was always going to be hard for Ross to find a niche in a receiver room that features Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, Rashee Rice and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Justyn Ross is a free agent and there’s only one way to save his professional football career
Ross can be proof of why the UFL exists and why it can be important. The UFL has produced a handful of players in the NFL and Ross could add his name to that list. This will also test just how much he loves playing football. Since things haven’t worked out in the NFL, he could very well just call it a career too.
The UFL desperately needs a player that can come in, shine for a season or two and jump to NFL stardom. While there’s been several players to end up playing in the NFL, none have become stars on their respective teams. Ross could be that player.
The most important thing for him right now is reps if he wants to continue playing. He won’t get that in the NFL, which is why the UFL could be one of the most beneficial things to his career. He would benefit from being on one of the top teams in the league, though a standout season would do wonders no matter where he plays.
The Chiefs were ready to part ways with him because he wasn’t going to have a place with their deep receiver room. But he can still have a place in football in the UFL. And who knows, maybe that’s just what he needs to return back to the NFL as an impact player.