Cardinals work out former first-round pick John Ross amid search for WR depth

Despite adding star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins back to the active roster and acquiring former Panthers wideout Robbie Anderson for a pair of draft picks, the Cardinals worked out another receiver, John Ross, according to Field Yates of ESPN. While many viewed Anderson as a replacement for the lost production of draft-day acquisition Marquise Brown, who faces a potential multi-week absence, the speedy Ross would be a better match, in terms of skill set, to team up with diminutive wide outs Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch to replace Brown’s ability.

A former top-10 draft pick for the Bengals in 2017, Ross is widely considered not to have lived up to his draft stock. After missing the majority of his rookie season with knee and shoulder issues, Ross was still able to salvage some bright spots in his second and third campaigns, reaching career highs for touchdowns with seven in 2018 and receiving yards with 506 in 2019. Despite showing some promise, injuries continued to drag the young wideout down. Over the final two years of his contract, Ross missed 21 games, leading him toward free agency. He signed with the Giants last year and appeared in 10 games, catching 11 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown.

Here are a couple of other workouts reported around the league, starting with Brown’s former home in Baltimore:

• After losing second-year wide receiver Rashod Bateman to injury for the past two weeks, the Ravens were looking to add some receiving depth this week, as well. This desire resulted in the practice squad addition of veteran DeSean Jackson, but according to Yates, Baltimore auditioned another veteran wide out in Tavon Austin. The former longtime Ram has spent the last four seasons with three other teams. Austin has seen quite a downsized role since his heyday as a starter with the Rams, but he showed a big-play ability in Dallas, averaging 15.1 yards per reception as a Cowboy three seasons ago. With Jackson now on the practice squad, Austin will likely have to keep searching for his fifth NFL squad.
• The Seahawks worked out a former first-round pick in defensive tackle Vernon Butler on Tuesday, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Butler waited until the final year of his rookie contract with the Panthers to play up to his draft stock, racking up 6.0 sacks, 7.0 tackles for loss, 32 tackles and three forced fumbles, which all still stand as career highs by quite a bit. Butler signed a two-year contract with the Bills after leaving Carolina but failed to match the production from his best year with the Panthers. He’s available after failing to make the Raiders’ final 53-man roster and looks to add some depth to a banged-up Seahawks defensive line.