| Will Holden | |
| Position: | Offensive tackle |
| Birth Date: | 14 September 1993 |
| Birth Place: | Green Cove Springs, Florida, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 7 |
| Weight Lbs: | 330 |
| High School: | Clay (FL) |
| College: | Vanderbilt |
| Draftyear: | 2017 |
| Draftround: | 5 |
| Draftpick: | 157 |
| Pastteams: |
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| Highlights: | |
| Statlabel1: | Games played |
| Statvalue1: | 27 |
| Statlabel2: | Games started |
| Statvalue2: | 9 |
| Pfr: | HoldWi00 |
Will Holden (born September 14, 1993) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at Vanderbilt University and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft.
Holden red-shirted his first season at Vanderbilt in 2012. He played in every game his red-shirt freshman on special teams and offense. His sophomore got more snaps on offense and played most downs on special teams. He then started every game in his junior year at left tackle in 2015. His senior season, Holden again started at left tackle and earned All-Southeastern Conference 2nd team(coaches) honors.[1] [2] Holden graduated from Vanderbilt University in December 2016 with a degree in Human and Organizational Development, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha.[3] He recently proposed to his long-time girlfriend from Vanderbilt, Casey Musicant.
Prior to the combine, Holden played guard at the East–West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl. Holden has an impressive week of practices leading up to the shrine game and was identified by NFL analyst as one of the players who raised his draft stock.[4] Holden also attended Vanderbilt's Pro Day, but was satisfied with his combine performance and opted to only do positional drills. New England Patriot's head coach Bill Belichick and representatives from 28 NFL teams attended Vanderbilt's Pro Day to scout Holden, Zach Cunningham, and nine other players.[5] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, he was projected to be a third or fourth round draft pick from the majority of scouts and analysts. He was ranked the tenth best offensive tackle by NFLDraftScout.com.
The Arizona Cardinals selected Holden in the fifth round (157th overall) of the 2017 NFL draft.[6] He was the seventh offensive tackle selected in 2017 and the 17th offensive linemen.[7] On May 12, 2017, the Cardinals signed Holden to a four-year, $2.66 million contract with a signing bonus of $268,132.[8] He played in seven games with five starts in his rookie season.
On September 2, 2018, Holden was waived by the Cardinals.[9]
On September 13, 2018, Holden was signed to the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad.[10] He was released on September 24, 2018.[11]
On October 2, 2018, Holden was signed to the New Orleans Saints' practice squad.[12] He was released on November 28, 2018.
On November 29, 2018, Holden was signed by the Cardinals.[13] He was released on July 20, 2019.[14]
On July 21, 2019, Holden was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins.[15] He was waived on August 26, 2019.[16]
On August 27, 2019, Holden was signed by the Seattle Seahawks.[17] He was waived on August 31, 2019.[18]
On September 17, 2019, Holden was signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad.[19] On December 3, 2019, Holden was released from the practice squad.
On December 4, 2019, Holden was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on January 13, 2020.[20] He was waived during final roster cuts on September 5, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[21] [22] He was elevated to the active roster on November 21 for the team's week 11 game against the Tennessee Titans, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[23] He was placed on the practice squad/COVID-19 list by the team on November 28, 2020,[24] and restored to the practice squad on December 9.[25]
On December 10, 2020, Holden was signed by the Colts off the Ravens practice squad.[26]
On August 31, 2021, Holden was waived by the Colts.[27]
Holden was signed to the Detroit Lions practice squad on September 9, 2021.[28] He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, 2021.[29]
On August 5, 2022, the New York Giants signed Holden.[30] He was waived on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day.[31] On November 14, 2022, he was released.[32]
On November 22, 2022, Holden signed to the Cleveland Browns practice squad[33] He was released on December 2.