Bengals' John Ross Placed on IR with Shoulder Injury; WR Stanley Morgan Signed

Cincinnati Bengals receiver John Ross has been placed on injured reserve after suffering a shoulder injury during Monday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Schefter added former Nebraska receiver Stanley Morgan has been signed from the practice squad.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Network first reported Tuesday that Ross could miss about a month of action.

The ninth overall pick in 2017, Ross' early part of the career has been plagued by injury. Knee and shoulder injuries limited the speedster to just three games as a rookie, and a groin injury caused him to miss three games in 2018.

He missed time during the 2019 preseason due to a hamstring injury.

As a result, the 5'11" wideout has had a hard time getting on the field and showing why he was a top-10 pick.

After failing to record a reception in his first year in the league (he did have a 12-yard rush), Ross showed some promise in 2018. He was held to just 21 receptions and 210 yards last year, but he made the most of his limited opportunities by finding the end zone seven times. 

Ross appeared ready to take the next step forward under first-year coach Zac Taylor, putting up 158 yards and two touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks in the season opener. He has 328 receiving yards and three scores in four games this season.

Losing Ross takes away important depth from Cincinnati's offense, though Tyler Boyd and Tyler Eifert provide quarterback Andy Dalton with talented targets. Not only that, but backs Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard are both capable of catching passes out of the backfield.

But Ross was drafted to stretch the field with his speed—and nobody else on the roster possesses that type of quickness.

The Bengals will likely turn to 2018 sixth-rounder Auden Tate to fill in for Ross, with Damion Willis and Alex Erickson also likely seeing an increase in snaps.