It’s a trip to injured reserve for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross.
Ross suffered a shoulder injury during Monday night’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and initial reports had it as an issue that would cause him to miss multiple weeks.
Via Marisa Contipell of Bengals.com: “Zac Taylor said it’s a 6-8 week injury for John Ross. Best decision was to put him on IR to have the opportunity to bring him back later this season.”
It’s a big setback for Ross, who was having a breakout year with 13 catches and three touchdowns entering the Monday loss.
The injury creates an even bigger problem for a Bengals offense that will be without A.J. Green for longer than expected and continues to have problems. Ross has the ability to separate and create space, but the remaining crop of wideouts won’t get open faster than a bad offensive line can block.
Ross might return, but given his history of labrum injuries and the team’s sour luck with longer-than-expected injury problems right now (Cordy Glenn is still out with a concussion suffered in the preseason, for starters), it wouldn’t be wise to bank on a return by Ross.
