Will Holden (born September 14, 1993) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

College career

Holden red-shirted his first season at Vanderbilt in 2012. He played in every game his red-shirt freshman and sophomore on special teams and limited time with the offense. He then started every game in his junior year at left tackle in 2015. His senior season, Holden again started at left tackle and earned All-SEC 2nd team(coaches) honors. Holden graduated from Vanderbilt University in December 2016 with a degree in Human and Organizational Development, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha. He recently proposed to his long-time girlfriend from Vanderbilt, Casey Musicant.

Professional career

Prior to the combine, Holden played guard at the East–West Shrine Game and the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. Holden has an impressive week of practices leading up to the shrine game and was identified by NFL analyst as one of the players who raised his draft stock. Holden also attended Vanderbilt's Pro Day, but was satisfied with his combine performance and opted to only do positional drills. New England Patriot's head coach

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

and representatives from 28 NFL teams attended Vanderbilt's Pro Day to scout Holden,

Zach Cunningham Zachary Daniel Cunningham (born December 2, 1994) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Vanderbilt and was selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. He also played ...

, and nine other players. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, he was projected to be a third or fourth round draft pick from the majority of scouts and analysts. He was ranked the tenth best offensive tackle by NFLDraftScout.com.

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals selected Holden in the fifth round (157th overall) of the

. He was the seventh offensive tackle selected in 2017 and the 17th offensive linemen. On May 12, 2017, the Cardinals signed Holden to a four-year, $2.66 million contract with a signing bonus of $268,132. He played in seven games with five starts in his rookie season. On September 2, 2018, Holden was waived by the Cardinals.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 13, 2018, Holden was signed to the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad. He was released on September 24, 2018.

New Orleans Saints

On October 2, 2018, Holden was signed to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

' practice squad. He was released on November 28, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

On November 29, 2018, Holden was signed by the Arizona Cardinals. He was released on July 20, 2019.

Miami Dolphins

On July 21, 2019, Holden was claimed off waivers by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

. He was waived on August 26, 2019.

Seattle Seahawks

On August 27, 2019, Holden was signed by the Seattle Seahawks. He was waived on August 31, 2019.

San Francisco 49ers

On September 17, 2019, Holden was signed to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

practice squad. On December 3, 2019, Holden was released from the practice squad.

Baltimore Ravens

On December 4, 2019, Holden was signed to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on January 13, 2020. He was waived during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on November 21 for the team's week 11 game against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was placed on the practice squad/

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list by the team on November 28, 2020, and restored to the practice squad on December 9.

Indianapolis Colts (second stint)

On December 10, 2020, Holden was signed by the Indianapolis Colts off the Ravens practice squad. On August 31, 2021, Holden was waived by the Colts.

Detroit Lions

Holden was signed to the Detroit Lions practice squad on September 9, 2021. He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, 2021.

New York Giants

On August 5, 2022, the New York Giants signed Holden. He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day. On November 14, 2022, he was released.

Cleveland Browns

On November 22, 2022, Holden signed to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

practice squad He was released on December 2.

References

External links

Vanderbilt Commodores bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Will (American football) 1993 births Living people People from Green Cove Springs, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football offensive tackles Vanderbilt Commodores football players Arizona Cardinals players Indianapolis Colts players New Orleans Saints players Miami Dolphins players Seattle Seahawks players San Francisco 49ers players Baltimore Ravens players Detroit Lions players New York Giants players Cleveland Browns players