Jared Veldheer (born June 14, 1987) is a former

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. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hillsdale.

Early life and college

Veldheer was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

to Jim and Mary Veldheer. He has two siblings, one older brother (Aaron Veldheer) and a younger sister (Meghan Veldheer). Jared graduated from Forest Hills Northern High School in 2005. In high school, Veldheer was named Most Valuable Lineman and played two years of varsity basketball, and his high school football coach Brent Myers graduated from Hillsdale College, the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

college that Veldheer would attend. In 2008, Veldheer was co-captain of the Hillsdale Chargers football team. After the 2009 season, th
American Football Coaches Association
named him First-team All-American. Veldheer is an alumnus of the

Delta Sigma Phi Delta Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Delta Sig or D Sig, is a fraternity established in 1899 at The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded on the basis of religious and ethnic acceptance. It is also one of th ...

fraternity.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Veldheer was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round (69th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. At the conclusion of the 2010 preseason, he was named Oakland's starting

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, beating out veteran Samson Satele. However, after the first game, Veldheer was moved back to offensive tackle, replaced at center by Satele for the rest of the season, and began sharing time with veteran Mario Henderson. By midseason, Veldheer had supplanted Henderson to become the Raiders' full-time starting

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

. On opening day of the

2011 NFL season The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay defeating the Super Bowl XLIV champion Ne ...

, he started at left tackle next to rookie

Stefen Wisniewski Stefen David Wisniewski (born March 22, 1989) is a former American football guard and center. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Phil ...

and the offensive line cleared the way for 190 rushing yards and a victory over the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

Arizona Cardinals

On March 11, 2014, Veldheer signed a five-year, $35 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals. On October 31, 2016, Veldheer was placed on injured reserve after tearing his right triceps in Week 8. In 2017, Veldheer started the first 13 games at right tackle before being placed on injured reserve on December 11, 2017 with an ankle injury.

Denver Broncos

On March 23, 2018, Veldheer was traded to the

for a

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sixth round pick. He started 12 games at right tackle, missing four games with a knee injury.

New England Patriots

On May 13, 2019, Veldheer signed with the New England Patriots on a one-year deal. On May 21, 2019, just a week after signing with the Patriots, Veldheer announced his retirement from the NFL; the Patriots used his roster spot to sign Gunner Olszewski. He was subsequently placed on the reserve/retired list by the team, but was waived from the list on November 26, 2019, after expressing interest in playing again.

Green Bay Packers

On November 27, 2019, Veldheer was claimed off waivers by the Green Bay Packers. He was reinstated from the reserve/retired list on November 29, and the team received a roster exemption for him. He was activated on December 9, 2019. He saw his first action as a Packer on December 23 during a Week 16 victory over the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

. On December 29, during a Week 17 victory over the Detroit Lions, Veldheer stepped in at right tackle when starter

Bryan Bulaga Bryan Joseph Bulaga ( ; born March 21, 1989) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Iowa. Bulaga was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He won Super Bowl ...

left the game with a concussion and did not return. On September 21, 2020, Veldheer announced his retirement again despite receiving a contract offer from the Dallas Cowboys.

Indianapolis Colts

Veldheer had a free agent visit with the Indianapolis Colts on December 28, 2020 He was signed to their practice squad on December 31. He was elevated to the active roster on January 2 and 8, 2021, for the team's week 17 and wild card playoff games against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

and Buffalo Bills, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

On January 12, 2021, the Green Bay Packers signed Veldheer off of the Colts' practice squad. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

list one day later. On May 27, 2021, Veldheer was suspended for six games for violating the league's

performance-enhancing drug Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

policy. After his suspension was announced, he said the positive drug test resulted from taking

Clomifene Clomifene, also known as clomiphene, is a medication used to treat infertility in women who do not ovulate, including those with polycystic ovary syndrome. Use results in a greater chance of twins. It is taken by mouth once a day, with a course ...

and he would subsequently retire from the NFL. In August 2021, Veldheer became a cook for schoolchildren in Grand Rapids.

References

External links

Hillsdale Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veldheer, Jared 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Grand Rapids, Michigan American people of Dutch descent American football centers American football offensive tackles Hillsdale Chargers football players Oakland Raiders players Arizona Cardinals players Denver Broncos players New England Patriots players Green Bay Packers players Indianapolis Colts players