Phil Loadholt informs Minnesota Vikings he is retiring

Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Phil Loadholt has decided to call it a career. The 30-year-old former second-round draft pick is retiring from the NFL after six seasons with the Vikings.

The Vikings sliced Loadholt's $6 million salary down to a $2 million base plus incentives before the season started -- perhaps as a counter-measure to Loadholt missing the last 21 Vikings games with a shoulder issue in 2014 and a torn Achilles tendon, which caused him to miss all of last season.

The Vikings signed former Bengals first-round pick Andre Smith this offseason to compete with Loadholt for the starting job. They were expected to get rid of at least one big-named veteran this summer during…