Jared Veldheer (born June 14, 1987) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

. He was selected by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

in the third round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Hillsdale.

Early life and college

Veldheer was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

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 Forest Hills Northern High School is a public high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It is one of three high schools in the Forest Hills Public Schools district, the other two being Forest Hills Central High School and Forest Hill ...

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 Hillsdale College is a Private university, private, Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Women were admi ...

, the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...

college that Veldheer would attend. In 2008, Veldheer was co-captain of the Hillsdale Chargers football team. After the 2009 season, the 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, is a fraternities and sororities, fraternity established in 1899 at City College of New York, The City College of New York (CCNY). It was the first fraternity to be founded based on religious and e ...

fraternity.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Veldheer was selected by the

in the third round (69th overall) of the

. At the conclusion of the 2010 preseason, he was named Oakland's starting center, beating out veteran Samson Satele. However, after the first game, Veldheer was moved back to

, replaced at center by Satele for the rest of the season, and began sharing time with veteran

Mario Henderson Mario Henderson (October 29, 1984 – October 21, 2020) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He spent the first four years of his career with the Oakland Raiders, after b ...

. By midseason, Veldheer had supplanted Henderson to become the Raiders' full-time starting

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

. On opening day of the

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

, he started at left tackle next to rookie Stefen Wisniewski 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 team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Arizona Cardinals

On March 11, 2014, Veldheer signed a five-year, $35 million contract with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. 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 Broncos for a 2018 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 The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

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 (first stint)

On November 27, 2019, Veldheer was claimed off waivers by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. 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. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. On December 29, during a Week 17 victory over the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, Veldheer stepped in at right tackle when starter

Bryan Bulaga Bryan Joseph Bulaga ( ; born March 21, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was an Tackle (gridiron football position), offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college footbal ...

left the game with a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

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

Indianapolis Colts (first stint)

Veldheer had a free agent visit with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

On January 12, 2021, the 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 the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

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 (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as anabolic steroids, can be used to improve at ...

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. It is taken by mouth. Common side effects include pelvic pain and hot flashes. Oth ...

and he would subsequently retire from the NFL.

Indianapolis Colts (second stint)

On December 8, 2023, the Colts hosted Veldheer for a workout. It was announced that he would sign with the practice squad on December 11. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent upon the expiration of his practice squad contract.

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