Wide receiver Justyn Ross likely will need a boost in playing time to make an impact for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday.

The former Central-Phenix City standout played three offensive snaps and four special-teams plays in Kansas City’s three victories in the AFC playoffs.

But after two NFL seasons – both ending with the Chiefs in the Super Bowl – Ross is looking forward to making a bigger impact for Kansas City in the 2024 campaign.

“My next step is to be that guy that everybody knows,” Ross told Starcade Media during Super Bowl week, “is to go out there and just show everybody what I know and what the whole world knows.”

Ross’ rookie season never got started after foot surgery. On July 25, 2022, the Chiefs placed the wide receiver on injured reserve. The surgery was Ross’ second for an injury that caused him to miss the last three games of his final season at Clemson.

Ross’ 2023 season had a seven-game gap.

Ross was arrested on Oct. 23 in Shawnee, Kansas. The NFL placed Ross on the Commissioner Exempt List on Oct. 27, three days after he entered two not-guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges in Johnson County (Kansas) District Court. At his arraignment, Ross was charged with domestic battery with no priors and criminal damage of less than $1,000.

Ross was granted diversion in the case, and the charges will be dropped when he completes the court-approved program.

On Dec. 8, Ross was suspended for six regular-season games for violating the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy.

Because he missed five games on the Commissioner Exempt List while the NFL evaluated his situation, Ross had to serve only one more game before completing the suspension. After remaining inactive for one game after his return, Ross returned to the field on Dec. 25.

During 2023, Ross had six receptions for 53 yards while on the field for 136 offensive snaps and 73 special-teams plays in 10 regular-season games.

Ross said working with coach Andy Reid and his staff and quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his teammates had him headed in the right direction.

“They’ve helped me develop a lot,” Ross said. “The NFL is a big difference from college. The speed of the game is different, the development of the mental part is different, so they’ve helped me a lot, and I feel like this year coming up is going to be a good year for me.”

At Central-Phenix City, Ross earned ASWA first-team All-State recognition in 2016 and 2017 after being a second-team pick in 2015. As a senior for the Red Devils, Ross caught 37 passes for 730 yards and 13 touchdowns and returned 14 punts for a 27.4-yard average and two touchdowns.

As a freshman at Clemson in 2018, Ross had 46 receptions for 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns. He capped the campaign by catching six passes for 153 yards and one touchdown in the Tigers’ 44-16 victory over Alabama in the CFP national championship game.

At that point, Ross appeared a can’t-miss NFL prospect, but he joined the Chiefs as an undrafted rookie.

After Ross caught 66 passes for 865 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019, doctors diagnosed Ross with the spinal condition Klippel-Feil syndrome. He had surgery in an attempt to fix the problem and missed the 2020 season.

Ross returned to the field to catch 46 passes for 514 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games for Clemson in 2021.

Kansas City will play the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at 5:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. CBS will televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.