Ross Ventrone (born September 27, 1986) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. He was signed by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2010. He also played for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. Ventrone played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Villanova. He is the younger brother of current

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

special teams coordinator

Ray Ventrone Raymond "Bubba" Ventrone (; born October 21, 1982) is a former American football Safety (American football position), safety and coach who is the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Footba ...

Early years

Ventrone attended Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic School, and

Chartiers Valley High School Chartiers Valley High School is a public school that was established in 1959 and is physically located in Collier Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's post-office address is Bridgeville, PA however. The school ...

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he did not play football until his senior year.

College career

After graduating from high school, Ventrone began his college career as a walk-on at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. He was

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

ed in 2005 before working on Pittsburgh's

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

in 2006. In 2007, Ventrone transferred to

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

, his brother Ray's alma mater, where he earned a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. He played in all 11 games in 2007, finishing third on the team with 64 tackles while also recording five pass break-ups and one interception. As a junior in 2008, Ventrone led the team with four interceptions, along with 61 tackles and a fumble recovery in 13 games played. Ventrone was part of the Wildcats'

NCAA Division I FCS The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

Championship in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. He recorded 73 tackles including 53 solo stops, as well as 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Professional career

New England Patriots

2010 season

After going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

, Ventrone was signed by the

on April 29, 2010. He played in the team's preseason opener against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

before being waived on August 15. He was re-signed on August 23, and played in the team's final two preseason games before being waived during final cuts on September 4. He was signed to the Patriots'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on October 19, 2010. He was re-signed to a future contract for the 2011 season on January 18, 2011.

2011 season

Ventrone was signed, promoted, or released 21 times by the Patriots during the season, including eight transactions in November 2011. He played in eight games, in Week 3 against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, in Weeks 6 and 8 against the

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and

, Week 11 against

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

and in both games against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. He has primarily played special teams, but did play on defense in the Patriots' Week 10 game against the Jets and also week 11 against the Chiefs.

2012 season

Ventrone was released by the Patriots on August 26, 2012. The Patriots signed, promoted, or released him 29 times; an ESPN article compared Ventrone to a "human yo-yo."

Pittsburgh Steelers

2013 season

On January 2, 2013, Ventrone signed with the

. He was released on August 31, 2013. The Steelers signed Ventrone to their practice squad on December 13, 2013.

2014 season

After starting the 2014 season on the Steelers' practice squad, Ventrone was promoted to the 53-man roster on October 11, 2014. He played in nine games and was credited with seven tackles.

2015 season

Ventrone was waived by the Steelers on October 13, 2015, after the Steelers activated wide receiver

Martavis Bryant Martavis Alexander Bryant (born December 20, 1991) is an American gridiron football wide receiver for the Vegas Vipers of the XFL. He played college football at Clemson, and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the ...

, following his 4-game suspension.

Second stint with Patriots

2015 season

Ventrone was signed to the

practice squad on October 28, 2015, and released from the practice squad on November 18, 2015. These mark the 30th and 31st transactions Ross has had with the team.

Second stint with Steelers

Ventrone was signed to the Steelers' practice squad on December 29, 2015 and then to the active roster on January 1, 2016, just in time for the team's regular season finale against the

on January 3. On August 14, 2016, the Steelers placed Ventrone on injured reserve after suffering a hamstring injury against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. Two days later, he was released with an injury settlement.Steelers Release S Ross Ventrone With Injury Settlement
/ref>

References

External links

New England Patriots bioRoss Ventrone released from 53-man roster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ventrone, Ross 1986 births Living people American people of Italian descent Players of American football from Pittsburgh American football safeties Villanova Wildcats football players New England Patriots players Pittsburgh Steelers players