John Ross, a rookie wide receiver, was recently put in the IR by the Cincinnati Bengals. In what was a disappointing season for the youngster, things are only going to get weirder for him in the realm of public perception, as Marvin Lewis says Ross hid his injury from the team.

Wednesday it was revealed John Ross needs surgery on his left shoulder. That is why he was placed on the season-ending IR.

It did bring up a reasonable question, though. Why had coach Marvin Lewis say earlier in that same day that Ross could play on Sunday?

Lewis told SiriusXM NFL Radio that Ross had been concealing the injury before finally “coming clean” with the team. According to the head coach, he said Ross was concealing the injury because he wanted to keep playing.

Is this Lewis trying to look competent, throwing a rookie under the bus, or just a kid trying to stay on the field with the coach telling the truth about it afterwards?

I don't know the answer to these questions. What I do know, however, is that Ross was never able to truly get going this season. Following a fumble on his first ever touch of a football in the NFL, he appeared to be in Lewis' doghouse. Then again, if he had been injured — or hurt — for most of the season, this could explain why he could never get out of his slump.

Nevertheless, the Bengals need him to get healthy and live up to the expectations the franchise had of him when they drafted him in the first-round of the NFL Draft.