Eagles sign speedster WR John Ross after DeVante Parker’s retirement
Ross is attempting a comeback after having underachieved relative to his draft status as the No. 9 overall pick in 2017.
One day after the Eagles officially placed receiver DeVante Parker on the reserve/retired list, they announced the signing of John Ross to a one-year deal.
The 28-year-old receiver was a tryout player at rookie minicamp over the first weekend of May, so the front office and coaching staff had a recent look at him. The 5-foot-11, 194-pound Ross hasn’t played an NFL snap since December 2021 during his one-season stint with the New York Giants.
Ross has draft pedigree as the first-round pick (No. 9 overall) out of Washington by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017. At the scouting combine that year, he set a record for the event with a 4.22-second 40-yard dash, which receiver Xavier Worthy (a first-round pick by the Chiefs) broke by a hundredth of a second this year.
Despite his staggering speed, Ross has underachieved relative to where he was drafted throughout his five seasons in the NFL. He played only three games in his rookie season because of a combination of injuries and healthy scratches. After he was slow to come on in his first two years, he posted a career-high 506 yards and three touchdowns on a career-best 28 receptions in eight games in 2019.
Ross played in only three games the following season, once more because of injuries and healthy scratches. In his most recent season with the Giants, Ross had 11 receptions for 224 yards and a touchdown in 10 games (one start).
He signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs in January 2023 after missing all of 2022. However, early in Chiefs training camp, Ross informed the team that he planned to retire.
Now Ross is attempting a comeback, bringing depth to a relatively thin group of Eagles receivers behind A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. The Eagles hosted their second day of organized team activities on Wednesday, in which Smith was absent. Brown, free-agent pickup Parris Campbell, and 2023 undrafted free agent Joseph Ngata took reps with the first-team offense in seven-on-seven drills.
» READ MORE: Eagles practice observations: WR depth concerns; first look at rookie CBs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean
General manager Howie Roseman’s signing of Ross continues his trend this offseason of adding players with draft pedigree. Those players have had varying degrees of success at the NFL level.
That group includes Campbell (No. 59 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 2019), inside linebacker Devin White (No. 5 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019), running back Saquon Barkley (No. 2 overall by the Giants in 2018), offensive lineman Mekhi Becton (No. 11 overall by the New York Jets in 2020), and quarterback Kenny Pickett (No. 20 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022). Parker was in that category, too, as the No. 14 overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2015.