Bengals place first-round pick John Ross on injured reserve with left shoulder injury

The strange odyssey that was John Ross’ rookie campaign came to a quiet end on Wednesday afternoon, as the Cincinnati Bengals placed their first-round pick on injured reserve with a left shoulder injury.

The Enquirer learned Ross will have surgery to repair the injury per a league source. It is unclear when he injured it, but he received an MRI on Wednesday and a quick decision was made.

He is expected to participate in organized training activities in the spring.

Before the Bengals practiced on Wednesday, head coach Marvin Lewis said he felt there was a possibility Ross would dress against the Chicago Bears.

Just over an hour later, Ross missed the practice due to the previously undisclosed shoulder injury.

The 23-year-old missed most of training camp recovering from offseason labrum surgery on his right shoulder, and he 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.

He suddenly appeared on the Bengals injury report on Wednesday with a shoulder injury and was quickly moved to IR.

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

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To replace him, the Bengals signed defensive tackle Josh Tupou to the active roster to prevent him from going to another, undisclosed team’s 53-man roster. Tupou, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Colorado, appeared in the Tennessee game. He had been on the Bengals' practice squad.

The club had some tough decisions to make regarding the roster after a physical Monday night game that led to nine players, including Ross, not participating in Wednesday’s practice.

Linebacker Nick Vigil, who suffered a severely sprained ankle against Cleveland on Nov. 26, was initially considered a candidate to go to IR, but ultimately it was determined Ross was the move to make.

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