Ross Finch Tucker (born March 2, 1979) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

and current Emmy nominated sports broadcaster. Tucker was an All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

then played seven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Tucker retired as a player after suffering a neck injury during the 2007 season. He works for

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

, the Philadelphia Eagles, Westwood One, Audacy, and hosts the Ross Tucker Football Podcast on the DraftKings Network.

Early life

Tucker attended Wyomissing Area High School, where he earned three varsity letters each in football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. He was All-league at both

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

while earning All-county honors at offensive tackle. As a senior basketball player, he averaged 16.1 points and 9.8 rebounds while making 24 three-pointers. He also received the school's US Army Reserve Scholar-Athlete award.

College career

Tucker attended

. He was a four-year starter on the Tigers Ivy League football squad. He started against

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

as a freshman at defensive end. As a sophomore, he moved to right guard. He was named All-Ivy in 2000 and was a two-time Academic All-American selection. In 2019, he was named to the university's 150th Anniversary team.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

Tucker signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

after the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

. He surprised observers by making the team, even though he suffered a broken hand and a partially torn MCL. The next year, he started 7 games at right guard. He was waived on October 22, 2002.

Dallas Cowboys

The

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

claimed Tucker off waivers on October 23, 2002. He started at left guard during the last 7 games of the season in place of an injured Larry Allen. On June 5, 2003, he was released after minicamp.

Buffalo Bills

Tucker was claimed off waivers by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

on June 16, 2003, and appeared in 12 games, with five starts at right guard. In 2004, he started nine games at left guard and four at center. In 2003, he was named to the ''USA Today'' All-Joe team. After missing minicamps because of offseason back surgery and being limited with injuries, he was cut on September 3, 2005.

New England Patriots

Tucker signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

on December 13, 2005. He played in one game and was declared inactive in three contests.

Cleveland Browns

On August 8, 2006, he was traded to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in exchange for a conditional 2007 draft choice (not exercised). On August 8, 2006, after LeCharles Bentley tore his patella tendon, Tucker was acquired from the Patriots for a conditional 7th round draft pick. He was released on September 2 after starting the final three preseason games.

Redskins and retirement

For the second time on March 8, 2007, Tucker signed with the Redskins again as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

. He suffered a career-ending neck injury that bruised his spinal cord during the preseason. On August 28, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

. Tucker announced his retirement in March 2008. He played in 42 games in his 7-year NFL career, starting 28.

Sports journalism

Tucker joined ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' upon his retirement from football in 2008, writing an NFL column. Tucker also has previously written for The Athletic and now writes regularly for The 33rd Team. He hosted ''The Morning Kickoff with Ross Tucker'' on Sirius XM NFL Radio for over a decade and is a frequent fill-in host on The Dan Patrick Show. Tucker is an Emmy nominated broadcaster who serves as a game analyst for both NFL and College Football games on CBS and Westwood One. Tucker is an NFL insider for Audacy, a contributor to 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia and is the Philadelphia Eagles preseason television analyst. He also hosts podcasts as part of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast network distributed via DraftKings.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Ross 1979 births Living people People from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania People from Berks County, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania American football offensive guards Princeton Tigers football players Washington Redskins players Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players Dallas Cowboys players New England Patriots players College football announcers NFL announcers