Oliver Ross

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Oliver Ross
No. 76
Tackle / Guard
Personal information
Date of birth: (1974-09-27) September 27, 1974
Place of birth: Culver City, California
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)Weight: 315 lb (143 kg)
Career information
High school: Los Angeles (CA) Washington
College: Iowa State
NFL Draft: 1998 / Round: 5 / Pick: 138
Debuted in 1998 for the Dallas Cowboys
Career history

*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Oliver Calvin Ross (born September 27, 1974 in Culver City, California) is an American football offensive lineman who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa State. Ross has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals.

Early years

At Washington Preparatory High School he earned All-Conference honors as a two-way tackle. He went on to play defensive tackle at Southwestern Community College, where he earned All-Southern California Western States Conference honors. He later transferred to Iowa State University where as a junior started at defensive tackle, before being converted to and offensive tackle. He earned the starter position at left tackle as a senior.[1]

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys selected Ross in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft as an offensive tackle. Because he had only one year of previous experience at that position, he needed more development and played in just 2 games as a rookie, as an extra tight end in short yardage situations. The next year he was released before the 1999 season started.

Philadelphia Eagles

Ross was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles to their practice squad, he was promoted to the active roster, but was kept inactive during the last 15 games of the 1999 season. In 2000 the team assigned him to the Amsterdam Admirals of the NFL Europe.[2] He was released before the 2000 season started.

Pittsburgh Steelers

He was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad and eventually promoted to the active roster on December 13, 2000. In 2001, he played in all 16 games and had the first 8 career starts of his professional career. Ross was signed to a restricted free agent offer sheet by the Cleveland Browns in 2002, but the Steelers matched it, signing him through the 2004 season. In 2003 he was expected to be the starter at right tackle, but lost the position to Todd Fordham in a close competition, before regaining it for the final 9 games of the season. In 2004 he started every game at right tackle.

From 2001 to 2004, he played in all 64 games, totaling 35 starts, playing both the guard and tackle positions.

Arizona Cardinals (first stint)

In 2005 he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an unrestricted free agent, starting 11 games at right tackle, 1 at left tackle and missing 4 games with a broken bone in his hand. In 2006 he had surgery to fix a preseason right knee injury, playing in 11 games with five starts. He missed the entire 2007 season with a torn left triceps. Ross was released at the end of the 2007 season.

New England Patriots

In 2008 he was signed by the New England Patriots as an unrestricted free agent, but never played any games for the team. He began training camp on the PUP list with a shoulder injury, before being placed on the injured reserve list.

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

In 2009 he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an unrestricted free agent, reuniting him with Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, who were his coaches with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was released before the season started.

References

External links

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