The Kansas City Chiefs will utilize both practice squad elevations for the AFC Championship game, according to Chiefs Digest beat reporter Matt Derrick — and one of the two promotions is an unexpected choice, to say the least.
“[The] Chiefs have used their standard practice squad elevations on LB Swayze Bozeman and WR Justyn Ross for Sunday’s AFC Championship game [vs. the Buffalo Bills],” Derrick informed.
Considering KC has generally prioritized their gameday elevations for special teams contributors like Bozeman — and given the current depth at wide receiver — the Ross selection quickly caught the attention of fans on social media.
“Ross is a big surprise, thoughts @mattderrick?” One fan commented. While another said: “The Ross move is interesting… Do you think he’ll actually play… and if so, do you see a Red Zone role for him? 🤔”
Others hyped the Ross elevation, hoping for a breakout performance.
“Justyn Ross legacy game loading,” a user wrote. Another quoted the post, reacting: “Finally unleashing Justyn Ross in the biggest game of the year 😤😤😤.”
Since joining the Chiefs, Ross has always been a cult favorite of the fanbase. And despite never really making much of an impact during the regular season or the playoffs — with 6 career catches for 53 receiving yards — it appears Ross fans haven’t lost hope that he’ll produce a big moment with Kansas City.
Of course, there is the question of whether or not Ross will even factor in against the Bills.
Justyn Ross Elevation Could Just Be Chiefs’ Way of Rewarding His 2024 Practice Squad Contributions
Within the comments of Derrick’s post, Arrowhead Pride writer Jared Sapp guessed that Ross’ practice squad elevation is “probably [just] his turn to get the game check like it was [veteran safety Deon] Bush’s last week.” Sapp added that he doubts the wideout is actually activated on Sunday.
On the other hand, could this be some sort of ruse from head coach Andy Reid?
Ross does bring unique traits to the table, but he’s never really put it all together before. Why trust him now in such a big game?
It certainly feels unlikely that the Chiefs would choose to dress Ross over a proven veteran pass-catcher like JuJu Smith-Schuster or Justin Watson — or a key special teamer like returner Nikko Remigio.
In all likelihood, Sapp’s assumption is correct, and KC is simply rewarding Ross for his 2024 contributions on the practice squad.
After all, the 25-year-old has never been much of an impact special teamer, and his best attributes (contested catches and red zone ability) are similar to that of DeAndre Hopkins. If he’s active, the decision would definitely be a major curveball by the Chiefs.
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