Kansas City Chiefs' perennial offseason standout waived days before 2025 training camp begins

Ross has been a training camp standout since signing with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Many hoped he would develop into a legitimate weapon for the Chiefs after a productive collegiate career at Clemson, but injuries and trouble off the field set him back. 

Between his sophomore and junior years in college, Ross had major neck and spine surgery that cost him the entire 2020 season. He returned for a redshirt junior year, but his production dropped. With concerns about his neck still lingering, Ross went from likely being a high draft pick to undrafted.

Just before training camp as a rookie for the Chiefs, Ross was placed on injured reserve due to a foot injury. In 2023 he entered camp healthy and earned a spot on the 53-man roster after an impressive preseason. Unfortunately, he never made an impact during the regular season as he was suspended six games for violating the league's personal conduct policy. 

Ross once again showed out during training camp in 2024, but it didn't translate during preseason games. Despite his impressive size and ability to win jump ball passes, that was about all Ross brought to the table. He struggled to line up properly before the snap and wasn't running crisp routes or creating separation.

It will be very interesting to see where Ross goes from here. He will first have to go through waivers, and if no team claims him he will be a free agent. Still just 25 years old and having plenty of impressive training camp film, it would be a bit surprising if he doesn't catch on somewhere. If he doesn't, Ross could look to reset his football career in the UFL or CFL.

As for the Chiefs, parting ways with a talented guy like Ross shows that they have quality depth at WR that they haven't had in a while. We know that Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown are the big three, but K.C. also has talented guys such as JuJu-Smith-Schuster, Jalen Royals, Nikko Remigio, and Tyquan Thornton. 

The WR room being so crowded could have prompted Ross to request his release, which Pelissero later revealed.