Arizona Cardinals trade Jared Veldheer to Broncos
Mar 23, 2018, 4:53 PM | Updated: 5:01 pm
Arizona Cardinals tackle Jared Veldheer (68) in the first half during an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Arizona Cardinals have traded offensive tackle Jared Veldheer to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft — pending Veldheer passing a physical — the team announced Friday.
Veldheer made headlines in training camp last season when he contemplated retirement, but said in early January that he planned on playing in 2018.
He started at right tackle after the team decided D.J. Humphries would move to the left side, but injuries to Humphries also led to Veldheer moving back to the left side as well.
Veldheer was ruled out for the rest of the season in mid-December after he broke his ankle against the Titans in Week 14 while also entering the game with an elbow injury. That made it 11 total games Veldheer had missed in the last two seasons after he was ruled out for the rest of the 2016 season when he tore his right triceps in Week 8.
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The move saves the Cardinals $6.9 million this season, per 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Mike Jurecki.
The Cardinals added three different pieces to the offensive line in free agency, signing Justin Pugh, Andre Smith and Vinston Painter.
Arizona originally signed Veldheer to a five-year, $35 million contract in 2014.
The 30-year-old was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He would start at center and left tackle for Oakland in his four seasons there before going to Arizona.
