Veteran OL Jared Veldheer to retire from NFL after getting 6-game suspension

May 27 (UPI) -- Veteran offensive lineman Jared Veldheer announced Thursday he plans to retire from the NFL after he was issued a six-game suspension for a violation of the league's drug policy.

The 33-year-old Veldheer said in a statement that a Clomid prescription resulted in the suspension. The former Arizona Cardinals lineman said he was taking the medication due to "abnormally low" testosterone, which he suggested was "caused from pituitary damage suffered from repeated blows to the head."

This will be the second time Veldheer has stepped away from the NFL. The Green Bay Packers talked him out of retirement in November 2019. He had retired earlier that year after signing a one-year contract with the New England Patriots.

Veldheer finished last season as a member of the Packers, who signed him off the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad during the postseason. He had started at left tackle for the Colts in their wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills and had an opportunity to be the first player to play for two different teams in the same playoffs.

Veldheer, however, tested positive for COVID-19 and was unable to suit up for the Packers.

The then-Oakland Raiders selected Veldheer in the third round of the 2010 draft out of Division II Hillsdale College. He appeared in 121 regular-season games (114 starts) for the Raiders (2010-13), Cardinals (2014-17), Denver Broncos (2018), Packers (2019) and Colts (2020).