Bengals WR John Ross Reiterates Trade Request

Bengals WR John Ross addressed a recent report that the team isn’t sure he likes football on Friday by posting the following on Twitter:

It’s not a secret that i have requested a trade. Trade me if this how y’all feel. I’m healthy and eager to play. I know I can be productive. It’s hard to love something when your not actually participating in it. Believe me, its not football that i don’t like. https://t.co/IlUg270jbI

— Hank Moody (@WatchJRoss) October 30, 2020

According to Adam Caplan, the Bengals’ stance on Ross has been the same since day one, which is that: They would rather allow him to walk as a free agent than get something in a trade for him now. 

Caplan says there are teams interested in acquiring Ross, but Cincinnati hasn’t been willing to trade him. For what it’s worth, Caplan believes a conditional fifth- or sixth-round pick would be fair compensation for Ross. 

However, Tyler Dragon reports that the Bengals have called teams about Ross, so this is something to at least keep an eye on in the coming days. 

A few weeks ago, Mike Garafolo reported that Ross had asked the Bengals for a trade after being phased out of the offense in recent weeks. 

Ross has been a healthy scratch for multiple games this season.

Garafolo mentioned that he reached out to Ross’ agent, who confirmed the former first-round pick had discussions with the team about a fresh start but that those talks didn’t go very far. 

The speedy Ross could potentially draw some interest on the trade market and it would make sense for the Bengals to deal him given he’s in the final year of his contract and clearly not a big part of their plans. 

However, the Cincinnati organization is notoriously conservative when it comes to in-season trades, so a trade can’t be called likely at this point. 

Ross, 24, is a former first-round pick of the Bengals back in 2017. He is entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract worth $17.11 million which included a signing bonus of $10.58 million.

Ross is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2020 after Cincinnati declined his fifth-year option. 

In 2020, Ross has appeared in three games for the Bengals and caught two receptions for 17 yards.