Chiefs WR Justyn Ross' suspension lifted, roster exemption granted
Kansas City Chiefs WR Justyn Ross formally had his suspension lifted by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday. He's cleared to rejoin the team in a full capacity after serving a six-game suspension for alleged domestic violence, most of which was served retroactively from his time spent on the Commissioner's Exempt List. While Ross is set to rejoin the […]
Kansas City Chiefs WR Justyn Ross formally had his suspension lifted by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday.
He's cleared to rejoin the team in a full capacity after serving a six-game suspension for alleged domestic violence, most of which was served retroactively from his time spent on the Commissioner's Exempt List. While Ross is set to rejoin the team, there is a catch regarding his return to the team.
Ross is free to return to practice this week, but the Chiefs received what the NFL calls a roster exemption. That means that Ross does not currently count against the 53-man roster in Kansas City. The roster is currently full and the team will need to make a corresponding move before activating him to the 53-man roster. The roster exemption gives the Chiefs time to figure out that move.
There is also a possibility that the roster exemption could last longer than the practice week. Andy Reid spoke to reporters about Ross' return on Monday, explaining that the coaching staff needs to see where he's at physically after missing the past six weeks of the season.
“We’ll just see kind of where he’s (Justyn Ross) at physically," Reid told reporters on Monday. "It’s hard to be gone that long and just kind of jump right back in. We’ll just have to see where he’s at.”
If Ross managed to keep up his fitness during his suspension, the team may make a move and activate him to the 53-man roster ahead of the Week 15 game against the New England Patriots. There's also a chance that he could find himself sitting out until Week 16's game against the Las Vegas Raiders either due to his fitness or due to circumstances out of his control.
Keep in mind that the Chiefs currently have six receivers on the 53-man roster. Ross has just three receptions for 34 yards in seven appearances for Kansas City this season.
