MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Minnesota Vikings tackle Phil Loadholt is expected to retire after a meeting with team officials Monday, according to what a source is telling ESPN.
According to the source, Loadholt is leaning toward retirement because of soreness in his Achilles tendon, which needed to be surgically repaired after he tore the tendon in August of 2015, along with other aches and pains.
Before the injury caused him to miss the entire 2015-2016 season, Loadholt was a steady presence for the previous six seasons on the offensive line. He had been a starter since he entered the league as a second-round pick out of Oklahoma and was coming back for the 2015-2016 season after missing the final five games of the previous season with a torn pectoral muscle.