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Report: Chiefs signing John Ross III to reserve/futures contract

With the 2022 regular season in the books, Kansas City can begin working on its 2023 offseason roster.

Syndication: Cincinnati Sam Greene, The Northwestern via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Kansas City Chiefs are signing wide receiver John Ross III to a reserve/futures contract, as first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The signing of Ross, 27, means that now, the No. 9 (Ross) and No. 10 (Patrick Mahomes) overall picks of the 2017 NFL Draft play for the Chiefs. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound wide receiver was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals one pick ahead of Mahomes, and he played for the Bengals for four seasons before signing with the New York Giants for 2021. He was clocked at 4.22 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Ross’ best season was 2019, when he caught 28 passes for 506 yards and three touchdowns. He appeared in 10 games for the Giants in 2021, when he caught 11 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown. A knee injury bothered Ross during his one season with the Giants, and though he said he was healthy ahead of the 2022 season, he was never signed.

Teams can begin using futures contracts to sign players as soon as the regular season ends. The contract does not work that year’s salary cap or 53-man roster. Ross is just a member of the 90-man roster for the 2023 season. As mentioned in tweets above, Ross (and all reserve/futures players) are ineligible to participate in that year’s postseason.

The Chiefs also signed former undrafted wide receiver Ty Fryfogle to a reserve/futures deal on Monday.

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