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Ross Concealed Injury


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https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2017/12/07/cincinnati-bengals-coach-marvin-lewis-rookie-wr-john-ross-concealed-injury/930915001/

Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis: Rookie WR John Ross concealed injury

 

First-round pick John Ross being suddenly placed on injured reserve took nearly everyone by surprise on Wednesday. That included the head coach. 

Marvin Lewis said during his Wednesday press conference he expected Ross to suit up this week. Four hours later, the rookie was placed on injured reserve. 

The Enquirer learned Ross will have surgery to repair the injury per a league source. It happened quickly. Lewis said Ross had not indicated to him this was an issue prior to coming clean Wednesday. 

Lewis said the motivation of finally seeing the field kept Ross quiet on the escalating shoulder situation. 

"He wanted to play," Lewis said. "He wanted to keep going. He was having a hard time sleeping. He said the players kept telling him you have to say something and see what is going on."

This is not his first injury with the club or first instance of misleading them about his health. 

 

The 23-year-old out of the University of Washington missed most of training camp recovering from offseason labrum surgery on his right shoulder and returned in time to play in the Bengals’ final two preseason games. He then injured his left knee in the fourth preseason game, which kept him out of the season opener.

Ross made his NFL debut in Week 2 against Houston on Sept. 14, taking a handoff 12 yards before fumbling. He didn’t see the field again in that game and did not play again until Oct. 29 against Indianapolis.

He admitted that he rushed himself back onto the field too quickly to play against Houston and learned a lesson from that. 

“I just think I was pushing it,” Ross said in mid-October. “That’s probably a lot on my end not communicating. I just wanted to get out there to try to prove myself. It’s a young mentality. Now I’m in a better state of mind and definitely treating it better as far as what I should be doing as opposed to what I think they want.”

Ross next played at Tennessee on Nov. 12, and after not finishing a route that led to an incompletion he was admonished by Lewis and had not played since.

Though the injury comes to the opposite shoulder, the condition is partly connected to the labrum surgery he had in February. 

"He had the scans and he’s had this condition which ... we’ve had a couple guys that have the shoulder on one side, generally, it’s parallel on the other. I think earlier the physician in Washington mentioned that to him and then your symptoms seem to escalate." 

Ross ends his rookie campaign with 17 total snaps played and no catches on two targets.

This marks the fourth consecutive season the first-round pick makes little to no impact as a rookie.

 
  • 2014, Darqueze Dennard: 62 defensive snaps in 14 games
  • 2015, Cedric Ogbuehi: 65 offensive snaps in 5 games
  • 2016, William Jackson III: Placed on IR in preseason
  • 2017, John Ross: 17 snaps in two games

The concept of arriving at the open of OTAs in March fully ready to go was appealling for his camp. 

"That’s the underlying thing I think his people told him underneath," Lewis said. "Now you get a chance to be healthy and ready to go whenever the offseason starts in 2018. It’s for him a fresh start. That was part of him saying can we do this now or whenever he will decide to do it."

A wave of momentum surfaced in practice for Ross over the last few weeks, according to backup quarterback AJ McCarron, who worked with Ross on the scout team. He said players and coaches were taking notice of him starting to show why he was drafted nine overall. 

"The past three weeks he has been unbelievable in practice," McCarron said. "He really has. He has looked great. Me and him had a really good chemistry going from running all the scout team reps."

Despite the pressure and attention applied to Ross during this process, Lewis said he believes the rookie handled it well and that added to the unfortunate nature of this timing. Ross was taking part in special teams during the prior practice and a role was going to be created for him as the season wrapped up. 

Still, Lewis said Ross has handled the tough situation well.  

"It’s hard, as I said to you guys in there, how many times, you guys ask me every day, "The John Ross Watch." To me, I wonder why, but then you realize he was the No. 1 draft pick and I understand that," Lewis said. "And I think with that comes the pressure, which is part of, when these guys come here and you talk to them before the draft. These are the pressures that come with being a No. 1 draft pick. You are always held to that standard from the time you step into the NFL. Because the fans, the media, everybody always wants that. Your teammates. They always want to see you. That’s why what he’s been doing on the practice field the last couple weeks has been great because his teammates saw everything we saw, which is great.”

 

 

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I am so glad he has been doing great in practice.  Fans love it when a player does great in practice.   We really like it when you hide an injury that requires surgery from your coach as well.  Great idea.   Would have been nice to promote or bring in an O lineman or RB but hey, you had your reasons.

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9 minutes ago, Inigo Montoya said:

"This is not his first injury with the club or first instance of misleading them about his health ."

 

 

It's good to know our fragile top 10 pick is also a con man.  

$17 mil in guaranteed money. SMH

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The guy is a complete fraud.  I wonder if the Bengals could sue him for his salary and either renegotiate for, say, a third rounder's compensation since that is about where he would have gone (or lower) if the injury was known or simply cut him and eat their losses with a comp pick if he is re-signed elsewhere.

Or sue his agent who represented him and pimped him to the NFL and club?

I think this is some serious shit and has adversely affected the team's entire season in one way or another.  Either some production out of him or missing out on a pick who could have made a real difference ie the linebacker Foster.

 

Then again, the agent and probably NFL will probably lay it on the Bengals for not doing their homework.

Still, if you or I or Joe Baggadonutrs foists this big of a lie on a job application or interview it would be grounds for a one way ticket to Palookaville which is what this jerk deserves.  The Bengals are out some big bucks and, in effect, his lie fucked over the fans, too, with a diminished season.

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3 hours ago, SF2 said:

I am so glad he has been doing great in practice.  Fans love it when a player does great in practice.   We really like it when you hide an injury that requires surgery from your coach as well.  Great idea.   Would have been nice to promote or bring in an O lineman or RB but hey, you had your reasons.

 

The only reason the guy was playing through the pain and not disclosing the injury was to get back on the field.

 

If her had claimed he had an injured shoulder and had not been playing you would have been squealing about what a pussy he had to be to get injured when not playing.  Instead he toughs it out and tries to play through it and you shit on him for that also.

 

Basically you shit on him no matter what he does, but hey, you have your reasons.

 

 

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10 minutes ago, fredtoast said:

 

The only reason the guy was playing through the pain and not disclosing the injury was to get back on the field.

 

If her had claimed he had an injured shoulder and had not been playing you would have been squealing about what a pussy he had to be to get injured when not playing.  Instead he toughs it out and tries to play through it and you shit on him for that also.

 

Basically you shit on him no matter what he does, but hey, you have your reasons.

 

 

No, I would have said way to go Bengals medical staff for not realizing he was hurt or simply chalked up another China Doll to bad drafting by our braintrust. 

 

BTW, when did he get hurt?  Was it before he became a Bengal?

 

BTW, the coaches DIDN'T know he was hurt yet STILL sat him.  Doesn't fix the fact coaches didn't trust him.  

 

Fuck this guy, he kept a serious injury away from the medical staff and took away snaps in practice that could have gone to Malone.

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10 minutes ago, SF2 said:

No, I would have said way to go Bengals medical staff for not realizing he was hurt or simply chalked up another China Doll to bad drafting by our braintrust. 

 

BTW, when did he get hurt?  Was it before he became a Bengal?

 

BTW, the coaches DIDN'T know he was hurt yet STILL sat him.  Doesn't fix the fact coaches didn't trust him.  

 

Fuck this guy, he kept a serious injury away from the medical staff and took away snaps in practice that could have gone to Malone.

Agree.

If the coaching and medical staff knew he had an injured shoulder, why was he listed as "Inactive-Healthy" for all those games.

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1 hour ago, Montana Bengal said:

So if he hid his injury - does that affect his contract?

My thinking is that if they knew of his injury before the draft, he would not have been the number nine pick.

Or taken in the first round at all.

He apparently knew and got 9th pick in the draft money because of his deception.

And better contract.

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4 hours ago, High School Harry said:

Though the injury comes to the opposite shoulder, the condition is partly connected to the labrum surgery he had in February. 

"He had the scans and he’s had this condition which ... we’ve had a couple guys that have the shoulder on one side, generally, it’s parallel on the other. I think earlier the physician in Washington mentioned that to him and then your symptoms seem to escalate." 

So, he knew in February that having the problem on one shoulder might lead to problems in the other. Doctors advised him of that but decided not to operate at that time. And then his "symptoms seemed to escalate". He was healthy enough to injure his knee in the pre-season...

Basic reading comprehension folks. Why are we speculating that he was injured before the draft? Why are we all "He must have injured it jerking off to his own college highlights and he's a pussy"?

One week he's the savior that Marvin Lewis is conspiring to keep on the bench because he wants to lose, the next week, he's a grifter and con man who needs to be pilloried for trying to play. This board needs Xanax.

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47 minutes ago, LostInDaJungle said:

So, he knew in February that having the problem on one shoulder might lead to problems in the other. Doctors advised him of that but decided not to operate at that time. And then his "symptoms seemed to escalate". He was healthy enough to injure his knee in the pre-season...

Basic reading comprehension folks. Why are we speculating that he was injured before the draft? Why are we all "He must have injured it jerking off to his own college highlights and he's a pussy"?

One week he's the savior that Marvin Lewis is conspiring to keep on the bench because he wants to lose, the next week, he's a grifter and con man who needs to be pilloried for trying to play. This board needs Xanax.

How many other teams had single digit very expensive draft choices be deemed a healthy scratch later in the season and then go on the IR needing shoulder surgery?  This whole thing stinks. 

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12 minutes ago, SF2 said:

How many other teams had single digit very expensive draft choices be deemed a healthy scratch later in the season and then go on the IR needing shoulder surgery?  This whole thing stinks. 

Stinks of us making a bad draft choice on an injured player, and having a crap medical staff. Heck, every player should be trying to hide his injury before draft day, that's why you have team doctors look them over.

How many teams have a #1 RB "surprise" them by having season ending surgery out of the blue? That Jeremy Hill conned us into taking him knowing he'd need surgery 5 years later!

If it's a choice between the Bengals being incompetent and John Ross intentionally "conning" the Bengals into drafting him and thinking he's healthy, Occam's razor points to the Bengals.

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2 hours ago, LostInDaJungle said:

For all of the overreaction... Ross was hiding his injury because he wanted to be on the field.

 

That is nothing but political spin to attempt to make Ross look tough instead of dumb and irresponsible.  If the injury was bad enough to require surgery, there is not a valid reason to conceal it.  He also took up a roster spot that could have been used on a healthy player.  Simply put, Ross has a well earned label as injury prone and he perpetrated a fraud to conceal this latest injury.  As the article stated, this wasn't his first injury with the team or the first time he mislead the team about his health.  He knew exactly what he was doing and it was clearly the wrong way to handle it.  Shady, shady shit.

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