Getty Former Raiders OL Jared Veldheer.
Jared Veldheer has been out of the league since 2020 but that isn’t stopping him from making a comeback. The Indianapolis Colts announced on December 11 that the veteran offensive tackle is coming out of retirement to sign with their practice squad.
We have signed T Jared Veldheer to the practice squad and released S Brandon Wilson from the practice squad.
Veldheer first joined the NFL as a third-round pick of the Raiders in 2010. He quickly earned a starting role with the team and started in 48 games over four seasons. He eventually moved on to the Arizona Cardinals and has bounced around the NFL, including a 2020 stint with the Colts.
The 6-foot-8 offensive tackle most recently was a member of the Green Bay Packers in 2020 but the Colts were the last team he played a regular season game for. Overall, he’s started 114 games in his career.
At 36, Veldheer is now one of the older players in the NFL but the Colts must believe he still has something left in the tank. Indianapolis is 7-6 and is in the thick of the playoff race despite playing backup quarterback Gardner Minshew. Veldheer’s experience will give him a chance to play but the Colts are likely hoping that he’ll just provide some depth for the rest of the season.
Antonio Pierce: ‘Raiders Beat the Raiders’
The Raiders coming off a 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14 and the offense has figured out to hit new lows. The team has only scored more than 20 offensive points in a game once this season.
Interim head coach Antonio Pierce isn’t thrilled with what he’s seen from the offense and believes that the Raiders let a winnable game slip through their hands.
“The opportunities there in the first quarter, especially offensively,” Pierce said during his December 11 media availability. “We hurt ourselves with penalties, then we got down to red zone, and had a penalty and then a turnover. And then, defensively at the end of the game, we were doing a really good job for the most part. Everybody saw it, but we just needed one more stop, right? One more stop and we didn’t get it. We were close, but obviously it wasn’t good enough. And special teams had a big punt return, and a penalty knocked us out of it right there at the 30-yard line. So again, like I told the guys, the Raiders beat the Raiders.”
With only four games left, the offense needs to show a lot more or there could be sweeping changes in the offseason.
Antonio Pierce Talks Lack of Explosive Offensive Plays
The 15.5 points a game the Raiders are averaging this season is tied for the fourth-lowest in the NFL. Las Vegas has talented offensive players but they just can’t get them the ball enough as the vertical passing game has been non-existent this season.
Antonio Pierce spoke about how he’d like to see the ball thrown down the field more.
“I think I said that, run the ball, play action, take shots,” Pierce said. “We’ve got to call it, got to throw it, got to execute it. And that’s going to be continued as long as I’m here. We’ll talk about it and hopefully it shows up on game day.”