John Ross suffers shoulder injury

The Bengals lost John Ross early in the fourth quarter of a game that hasn’t been close since halftime. Ross caught a slant pattern and was thrown to the ground hitting his shoulder hard on the turf, which led to Ross at least slightly hurting his shoulder.

Ross was slow to get up and seemed out of it before he was stopped by the athletic staff and escorted to the sideline. It had all the signs of a concussion, but it must have been Ross being frustrated by suffering another injury.

Ross left the game with 3 catches for 36 yards. He was having a solid night as he caught the passes that were in his reach. He, like the rest of Cincinnati’s offense, was held in check for this entire game, though.

Expect a lot more of undrafted rookie Damion Willis in his place, and Auden Tate should see even more targets in Ross’ absence.

We will likely know more about the severity of Ross’ injury tomorrow, but it is a positive sign that the Bengals declared Ross as questionable to return rather than out. It is an unfortunate bump in the road for Ross’ best season as a pro.