Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross will not play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a foot injury.

He sustained the injury in practice this week. He was listed as a full participant in practice on Wednesday and a limited participant on Thursday, and he sat out Friday.

NFL Network said the injury could force him to miss multiple games.

The Bengals drafted Ross with the No. 9 overall pick in 2017. The 25-year-old has been used sparingly since Week 1 and asked the team for a trade after he was a healthy scratch. Before the injury, Bengals coaches were considering using Ross at cornerback, where the team is thin because of injuries, the report said.

He has appeared in three games this season, catching two passes for 17 yards.

In 27 games (20 starts) with the Bengals, Ross has 51 receptions for 733 yards with 10 touchdowns. He will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Also out for the Bengals will be defensive tackle Geno Atkins (personal), tackle Bobby Hart (knee), cornerback Darius Phillips (groin) and cornerback LeShaun Sims (concussion).

The Steelers (8-0) will have quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back against the Bengals (2-5-1) after he was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday.

–Field Level Media

Little-used Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross confirmed Friday that he asked the team to deal him before the Tuesday trade deadline.

Ross, a former first-round draft pick, has appeared in one play total over the past five games for Cincinnati (1-5-1).

The 25-year-old receiver tweeted, “It’s not a secret that i have requested a trade. Trade me if this how y’all feel. I’m healthy and eager to play. I know I can be productive. It’s hard to love something when your not actually participating in it. Believe me, its not football that i don’t like.”

Ross has yet to fulfill the hype he generated coming out of the University of Washington in 2017, when he ran a 4.22 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, still the record since the event went to electronic timing in 1999. He was drafted ninth overall but played in just three games as a rookie in 2017 due to knee and shoulder injuries plus contests when he was a healthy scratch. Ross had no receptions that year.

The next two years, Ross logged a total of 49 receptions for 716 yards and 10 touchdowns while appearing in 21 games (18 starts). The lack of production prompted the Bengals to turn down Ross’ 2021 option ahead of the 2020 season.

Ross started the 2020 opener, and he had two catches for 17 yards in the Bengals’ 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The following week, he made no receptions while seeing limited action against the Cleveland Browns. The only time he has been on the field since was one play vs. the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 18.

–Field Level Media

Wide receiver John Ross requested a trade from the Cincinnati Bengals, the team that selected him with the ninth overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.

The NFL Network reported that Ross’ agent, Brad Cicala, has engaged in trade talks with the team, however those conversations are said to have gone nowhere.

Ross was inactive on gamedays for three straight weeks before logging just one snap in the Bengals’ 31-27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. He has two catches for 17 yards in three games this season.

The 24-year-old has 51 receptions for 733 yards and 10 touchdowns in 27 career games, including 28 catches for 506 yards and three scores last season.

He has played in only half of a possible 54 games due to a variety of injuries, missing 13 games as a rookie, three in 2018 and eight last year. Most recently, Ross broke a sternoclavicular joint in his chest in 2019, an injury that could have been life-threatening after the broken bone came close to hitting an artery.

Ross is in the final year of his rookie deal after Cincinnati declined his fifth-year option prior to this season. He caused a stir before the 2017 draft by breaking Chris Johnson’s NFL combine record by finishing the 40-yard dash in 4.22 seconds.

Tyler Boyd (team-leading 37 receptions, 416 yards) and rookie Tee Higgins (club-best two receiving touchdowns) have been the primary targets of rookie Joe Burrow this season for the Bengals (1-4-1).

–Field Level Media