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Can’t Keep Steelers’ Ross Ventrone Down

By Justin Roem

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Yesterday, Teresa Varley of Steelers.com posted an article detailing the journey of Steelers’ special teamer Ross Ventrone. The piece highlighted the safety’s difficult journey to a game day roster spot on the Steelers.

Prior to earning that spot, Ventrone had been cut a combined thirteen times (eleven by the New England Patriots and two by the Steelers). He now hopes to entrench himself as a contributor in the kicking game.

Ventrone’s Wikipedia page states that the safety was involved in 29 roster transactions–promotions, releases, re-signings–while with the Patriots. The former Villanova Wildcat went undrafted in 2010 and is a Pittsburgh, Pa. native. He didn’t play football until his senior year of high school.

Back in September 2012, National Public Radio interviewed Ventrone for a show called All Things Considered. They titled the subsequent post”‘It’s a Grind’: An NFL Player’s Struggle for Survival.” NPR highlighted the unusual amount of times that Ventrone had spent going back and forth with his team at the time, the New England Patriots.

Ventrone’s five year NFL career certainly hasn’t been easy, but maybe he’s found his home with the Steelers. The long hair flowing from his helmet can easily be confused for the hair of a more established Pittsburgh safety, but his jersey number, 35, distinguishes him–as well as the fact that the other safety hasn’t found himself as a gunner on punts in more than a few years.

Ventrone plans to keep that number 35 jersey. On October 11th, 2014 Ventrone was moved up to the active roster. He stayed there for the balance of the 2014 season. If anything is clear about Ventrone, it’s that he doesn’t have any plans to give up.

During that 2012 NPR interview, Ventrone said, “I think there will be an opportunity, I just have to seize it.” The opportunity has come, let’s hope he’s seized it.

Next: Steelers 2015: Markus Wheaton

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