Aaron Ross has gone halfway around the world to make certain his pesky left hamstring, the one that derailed his 2009 season, is all healed up.

Well, something like that. Ross has been working out in the Middle East while on his honeymoon, and he checked in with Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News while on his adventure in the United Aram Emirates.

"I've been running on the beach,” Ross said. “The sand is a true test for the hamstring because your leg is sinking in the dirt. I feel like I'm 100 percent and ready to go again."

Ross played in four games last season, injured the same hamstring three separate times, first in training camp at the start of August, and finished the season on injured reserve. Now, he must return to a new defense run by new coordinator Perry Fewell. Terrell Thomas played well in his absence, and in the games Ross did play in, he was at safety.

Nothing is guaranteed moving forward, but Ross sounds positive about his situation.

"I always look at it as a battle," Ross told Vacchiano. "Every year they tell us that coming in you're not a starter. You have to work for that spot. So it's going to be a battle. (Thomas) had a tremendous year last year. It's up in the air on who's the starter and who's not.
"I'm feeling great. I can't wait to get started again. I keep telling everybody, it's been a year since I played football. I'm very excited about this upcoming year and really can't wait to get it going again."

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