KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Clemson wide receiver Justyn Ross, once considered an eventual first-round draft pick before a spinal disorder and other injuries disrupted his career, signed a contract as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs, a source told ESPN, confirming multiple reports.
Ross caught 112 passes for 1,865 yards and 17 touchdowns in his first two seasons at Clemson before he was diagnosed with a congenital fusion in his spine in the spring of 2020. Doctors told him he might never play football again.
Ross had surgery and sat out the 2020 season. He returned to play last season but was limited all season by a stress fracture in his foot. He caught 46 passes for 514 yards and three touchdowns.
During the offseason, the Chiefs traded their leading wide receiver, Tyreek Hill, to the Miami Dolphins. They also lost two other top wideouts, Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson, to free agency. The only returning wide receiver among their top four from last season is Mecole Hardman.
The Chiefs signed JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Marquez Valdes-Scantling of the Green Bay Packers in free agency. They selected Skyy Moore of Western Michigan in the second round of the recent draft.
Kansas City also made a move on Monday to acquire Houston Texans cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. for a conditional seventh-round pick. On Thursday, Houston drafted cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. with the No. 3 overall pick. The Texans also added veteran cornerback Steven Nelson last month.
Earlier in the day, Johnson tweeted a video of himself walking out onto the field in a Texans uniform and said, "I asked for this myself."
Johnson, who started his career at cornerback and was a second-round pick in 2019, moved to safety in 2020. Houston moved him back to cornerback last season. Johnson started 19 of 44 games in three seasons with Houston. All three of his NFL interceptions came last season.
ESPN's Sarah Barshop contributed to this story.