Early life and college

Veldheer was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan 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 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 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, 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. On opening day of the 2011 NFL season, 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.

Arizona Cardinals

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

[ Source: Wikipedia ]