Phil Loadholt Announces His Retirement

UPDATE to the UPDATE: Here’s the reason that Loadholt cited for deciding to hang it up at this time.

UPDATE: According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Loadholt met with Rick Spielman this morning and officially informed him of his decision to retire.

For the past couple of months, Minnesota Vikings fans been expecting a Training Camp battle for the right tackle position between Phil Loadholt and recently signed Andre Smith.

If the reports we’re getting from social media are true, that battle isn’t going to materialize.

Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that Loadholt is expected to announce his retirement today after he meets with team officials.

Loadholt was the Vikings’ second-round pick (#54 overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft out of the University of Oklahoma. He immediately won the right tackle job as a rookie, and from 2009 to 2013 started 78 of 80 possible games at the position.

Unfortunately, the injury bug bit him after that. He started the first 11 games of the 2014 season before going out for the year with a pectoral injury, and then missed the entire 2015 season following a torn Achilles tendon in the team’s second preseason game.

Phil Loadholt has been a mainstay along the offensive line for the Vikings for most of his NFL career. If this is the end of the road for him, he’ll be remembered as a true road grader at right tackle and a very solid all-around player.

We’ll be keeping tabs on this story and see if the rumors end up coming true.