"Felt Like a Bad Husband": Retired NFL Veteran Recalls Difficult Period After Bills Cut Him Days Following His Marriage
· Yahoo Sports
Some moments last only a few minutes but stay with players for years. NFL roster cuts are one of them. Teams make the decision and move on, but players can see their careers, plans, and family lives change with one call. Former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker knows that feeling well, and his 2005 release from the Bills stayed with him long after he left Buffalo.
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“Trying to be a good husband, trying to get our marriage off to a good start. And here I get fired. And she had resigned her job to come be with me in Buffalo,” the retired NFL veteran said on the Ross Tucker Podcast. “I felt like a bad husband. I felt like I had really let her down, which made it a zillion times worse than just letting myself down.”
The release hit Tucker especially hard because he had gotten married just a few months earlier. His wife had already resigned from her job at JPMorgan in New York and moved to Buffalo to build their life around his NFL career. Suddenly, losing his roster spot was no longer just his problem. It affected the person who had made a major career sacrifice to be with him.
“For the first time, you know, me getting released wasn’t just affecting me. It was affecting someone else.”
Tucker landed in Buffalo in 2003 after the Bills claimed him following his stint with Dallas. He earned a real role quickly, starting five games at right guard that season. Tucker was also named a USA Today All-Joe selection in 2003. In 2004, he played all 16 games and started 12, giving him 17 starts in 28 games across his two seasons with Buffalo.
Then his body started working against him. Tucker spent the 2005 offseason recovering from back surgery, missed minicamps, and dealt with more injuries during training camp. Buffalo did not wait around. The Bills released him following the 2005 training camp, ending his run with the team.
The decision still stung because Tucker was coming off a solid 2004 season, playing all 16 games and starting 12. Still, Buffalo moved on.
Tucker did not stay out of the league for long. New England signed him on December 13, 2005, and he appeared in the Patriots’ regular-season finale. The Patriots then traded him to the Cleveland Browns in August 2006 for an undisclosed draft choice.
Injuries had already complicated Tucker’s career before Buffalo. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Washington in 2001 before being claimed by the Cowboys midway through the 2002 season. He then started the final seven games of that season for Dallas.
His career eventually brought him back to Washington. During a 2007 preseason game against the Ravens, Tucker suffered a spinal cord bruise. The injury ultimately ended his playing career.
He finally retired from the NFL in 2008.
Tucker spent seven years in the NFL, going from Washington to Dallas, Buffalo, New England, Cleveland and eventually back to Washington.
But instead of sitting on the sidelines, Tucker started looking for a new path. After his career-ending injury, his writing about the experience drew interest from media networks, and he later became Princeton’s football radio color commentator. Over time, Tucker kept taking on more broadcasting opportunities and building a second career around the game.
So, when one door closed for him, another opened.
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