John Ross has made it clear he wants the Cincinnati Bengals to trade him if they are not prepared to use him this season.

The NFL trade deadline is on Tuesday and unsettled wide receiver Ross is eager to find an outcome that will allow him more game time.

He was drafted at number nine overall by the Bengals in 2017 but has only started 20 games since amid struggles with injuries and is in the last year of his contract after the team declined his fifth-year option.

Ross, 24, was on the field for 56 snaps in the Week 1 loss against the Los Angeles Chargers.

However, he has played only 29 snaps across the rest of the 2020 season, including just one in the Week 6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He has been listed on recent injury reports with an illness.

"It's not a secret that I have requested a trade," Ross wrote on Twitter as he rejected a report where a Bengals team source suggested he has fallen out of love with football.

"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 you are not actually participating in it. Believe me, it is not football that I don't like."

The Bengals, who are rebuilding with Joe Burrow at quarterback, traded frustrated pass-rusher Carlos Dunlap to the Seattle Seahawks this week and Ross is eager to follow him out of the door.

Burrow has developed a promising early bond with rookie wideout Tee Higgins, with veterans A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd also among the receiving options, leaving Ross down the depth chart.

The 1-5-1 Bengals play the Tennessee Titans in Cincinnati on Sunday, with Burrow looking to build on a career-high 406-yard passing performance against the Cleveland Browns last time out.