FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots released veteran offensive lineman Oliver Ross today. Ross was signed by the Patriots as a veteran free agent on June 2, 2008. He was placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list with a shoulder injury on Aug. 30, 2008 and has not played in a game this season.
Ross, 33, is a veteran of 10 NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (1998), Philadelphia Eagles (1999), Pittsburgh Steelers (2000-04) and Arizona Cardinals (2005-07). The 6-foot-4-inch, 327-pound offensive lineman was originally drafted by the Cowboys in the fifth round (138th overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft. Ross has played in 89 career games with 52 starts.
The Iowa State product played in two games with the Cowboys as a rookie in 1998. The next season, he was released by Dallas following the preseason and was signed by the Eagles, for whom he was listed as a gameday inactive for 15 games in 1999. He spent part of the 2000 season on the Steelers' practice squad before seeing his first significant game action in 2001. That season, he played in all 16 games with seven starts for Pittsburgh, seeing action at tackle and guard. From 2001-04, Ross played in all 64 of Pittsburgh's games, totaling 35 starts over that span. In 2004, he started every game for the Steelers at right tackle. Ross was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an unrestricted free agent prior to the 2005 season, starting 12 games while seeing action at both offensive tackle spots. He played in 11 games with five starts in 2006 before missing the entire 2007 season with a triceps injury.
