Jared Veldheer won't be with the New England Patriots in 2019 after all. The veteran offensive tackle has decided to retire instead, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. The Patriots already had a bit of a shaky situation at tackle before Veldheer's retirement, so this certainly wasn't welcome news.

Veldheer just signed with the team two weeks ago on a one-year deal with a base value of $3.5 million. It could've been worth up to $6.5 million with incentives, so Veldheer walked away from a significant amount of money. Veldheer started 12 games for the Broncos last year but didn't play particularly well. He's still only 31 though, so this is a bit of an early retirement.

Veldheer originally entered the league as a third-round pick of the Raiders back in 2010. He spent the first four years of his career in Oakland before signing a big deal with the Cardinals. He was the starter at left tackle in the desert for a few seasons, before he was released and latched on with Denver.

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The Patriots lost last year's starting left tackle, Trent Brown, in free agency. Isaiah Wynn is supposed to take over for him, but he's never played in an NFL game and is unproven. Veldheer was supposed to be a quality depth option who had experience at both tackle spots, and his retirement leaves New England in a bit of a pinch.

While it was a surprising move, it certainly wasn't unprecedented. Players in the NFL often decide to hang up their cleats at random times, and it's happened several times with the Patriots. Many players aren't accustomed to the Patriots' way of doing things and aren't prepared for the playbook or the work. Receivers Andrew Hawkins and Eric Decker both decided to retire in recent years before making it out of training camp as a Patriot.