Bengals WR John Ross Suffers Knee Sprain

Bengals first-round pick John Ross suffered a knee sprain in Cincinnati’s final preseason game. The sprain is expected to keep him out of the season opener and likely for the team’s short turnaround in Week 2, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He could potentially return for Week 3.

Cincinnati starts the 2017 campaign at home against the division-rival Ravens, and then faces the Texans just four days later. That quick turnaround could hypothetically force Ross to miss multiple games, especially if he suffers a setback of some sort. After the Bengals’ Thursday night game versus Houston, the club doesn’t play for 10 more days, so September 24 at Green Bay should represent a worst-case return date for Ross.

Ross, the ninth overall selection in this year’s draft, will add an element of speed to Cincinnati’s offense when healthy, but the Bengals have the wide receiver depth to withstand a short absence from their first-year wideout. A.J. Green, clearly, is one of the best receivers in the league, and Cincinnati also boasts secondary options such as Brandon LaFell, Tyler Boyd, Cody Core, and fourth-round rookie Josh Malone.