The Washington Commanders need all the help they can get at wide receiver in 2026, and they’re willing to look wherever they can to get it.
That includes giving another chance to a 2-time Super Bowl champion wide receiver in Justyn Ross, who just showed he might still be effective in the NFL with a successful stint in the UFL with the Birmingham Stallions this spring.
Ross was on consecutive Super Bowl-winning teams with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 and 2023 and also won a College Football Playoff National Championship with Clemson in 2018.
“The Washington Commanders worked out UFL WR Justyn Ross, per UFL press release,” Commanders reporter Christian Paolantonio wrote on his official X account on Wednesday. “The former Clemson wideout spent time with Kansas City as an UDFA from 2022-2024, and is coming off a spring season where he finished with 22 receptions for 327 receiving yards and two touchdowns.”
Off-Field Issues Overshadowed Time With Chiefs
The Chiefs must have seen something they liked in Ross, because they stuck with him through a messy off-field issue — not what teams usually do when it comes to undrafted free agents.
Ross missed all of what would have been his rookie season in 2022 with foot surgery but played 10 regular-season games in 2023 — a season in which he was suspended 6 games for an arrest for domestic battery and property damage in October 2023.
“Chiefs wide receiver Justyn Ross has been charged with domestic battery and criminal property damage of less than $1,000, court records in Johnson County, Kansas, show,” ESPN’s Adam Teicher wrote in October 2023. “Ross was arrested Monday in Shawnee, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. He pleaded not guilty to both misdemeanor charges during his arraignment hearing Tuesday afternoon, and his bond was set at $2,500 with various conditions, including no contact with the accuser or any witnesses.”
Justyn Ross Showed Promise in Time at Clemson
Ross seemed like he was destined to not only become an NFL draft pick, but a high pick in the draft during his freshman season at Clemson. He had 46 receptions for 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns on the way to winning the program’s 2nd national championship in 3 seasons.
The next 3 seasons were a series of diminishing returns. Ross had 66 receptions for 865 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2019, didn’t play at all in 2020 after surgery for a congenital spinal fusion condition, then had 47 receptions for 524 yards and 3 touchdowns in his final season in 2021.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein projected Ross as a possible Day 3 pick in his pre-draft evaluation.
“Ross returned from spinal surgery that kept him out for the entire 2020 season, but it’s not yet clear if he can return to the same form he showed in 2018 and 2019,” Zierlein wrote. “While he has expanded his route tree, Ross is most effective in a passing attack that features vertical throws, where his stride length and build-up speed will work in his favor. He looked smooth catching on the move and still has an up-and-over advantage on jump balls, but his ability to elude press requires further examination. He’s a likely backup who can provide value at all three receiver positions.”
Commanders Bring in 2-Time Super Bowl Champion WR