Ross Ventrone (born September 27, 1986) is an American former professional

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. He was signed by the

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as an

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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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. Ventrone played

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at Villanova. He is the younger brother of current

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special teams coordinator Ray Ventrone.

Early life

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. However, the school's post office address is Bridgeville, PA. The scho ...

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

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at the

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. He was

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ed in 2005 before working on Pittsburgh's

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in 2006. In 2007, Ventrone transferred to

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

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

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. 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'

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Championship in

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

Professional career

New England Patriots

After going

undrafted 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 ...

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 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

, Ventrone was signed by the

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

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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'

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on October 19, 2010. He was re-signed to a future contract for the 2011 season on January 18, 2011. Ventrone was signed, promoted, or released 21 times by the Patriots during the 2011 season, including eight transactions in November 2011. He played in eight games, in Week 3 against the

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, in Weeks 6 and 8 against the

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and

, Week 11 against

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and in both games against the

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. 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. 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

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

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, following his 4-game suspension.

New England Patriots (second stint)

Ventrone was signed to the Patriots 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.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. 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 bio

Ross 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