Eagles sign the No. 9 pick from the 2017 NFL Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles signed veteran free agent wide receiver John Ross on Thursday morning, according to an official team announcement.

This news comes a few days after DeVante Parker unexpectedly announced his NFL retirement. His departure had the Eagles interested in adding some more wide receiver depth.

We knew Ross was on the Eagles’ radar considering the team invited him to participate in their rookie minicamp following the 2024 NFL Draft. Here’s what we wrote at the time:

Ross, who’s somehow only 28, hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2021 season. He retired from football last July after participating in just a few training camp practices with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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The Eagles showed a lot of interest in Ross leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft. He was one of five players they reportedly liked at No. 14 but obviously he didn’t make it to their pick.

Ross struggled with inconsistency and injury issues after being drafted; he appeared in just 37 out of 81 possible games over his first five seasons. His 143 career targets have resulted in 62 receptions for 957 yards (15.4 average) and 11 touchdowns.

If Ross can still run anything like he did when he blazed a 4.22 second 40-yard dash (record breaking at the time), well, perhaps the Eagles will sign him to their 90-player offseason roster. No harm in giving him a look to see if he can make the team, especially as the Eagles seek a replacement for the old Quez Watkins role (low volume target with big play ability).

It would seem that Ross didn’t look so good during his tryout that the Eagles felt compelled to immediately sign him. But he apparently looked good enough for the Eagles to circle back to him while in need of more help at receiver.

Through offseason practices and preseason games, Ross has a chance to show he belongs on the Eagles’ roster. We’ll see if he’s able to make the most of it.