Danish offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt has been signed to a two-year contract by the Arizona Cardinals in the National Football League.
Froholdt spent the past two seasons with the Cleveland Browns. In 2022, Froholdt played in all 17 games for the Browns, starting six, four at center and two at right guard. Interestingly, Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing was quarterbacks coach for the Browns last season.
Froholdt had been picked up by Cleveland from the Houston Texans practice squad in October 2021.
A fourth-round pick of the New England Patriots in the 2019 NFL Draft, Froholdt remained with the Patriots until November 202o when he was picked up on waivers by Houston.
Froholdt’s selection in the 2019 Draft marked only the second time in history that a Dane has been drafted in the NFL. The first was Pro Football Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen in the 1982 NFL Draft. He too was picked in the fourth round.
The 6’5″, 310 pound, 26-year-old native of Svendborg, Denmark who played football in his native country for the Søllerød Gold Diggers, first went to the United States as an exchange student in 2013. He landed in Ohio where he started playing football to make friends but excelled and moved to the IMG Academy in Florida towards the end of his high school career. He earned a 4-star recruiting grade there and after offers from a number of major schools ended up in Arkansas where he played guard and center.
New faces in the Valley 🌵
We have agreed to terms with LB Kyzir White and OL Hjalte Froholdt on two-year contracts and with DL Kevin Strong on a one-year contract.
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) March 15, 2023