When Hjalte Froholdt came to the Cardinals last season, he had played only a few games at center in the NFL and was far from a lock to hold the job with his new team.
By the time the 2023 season ended, however, Froholdt had turned into the anchor in the middle and a key part of the offensive line. So it came as little surprise Wednesday morning when Froholdt — who had been headed into his contract year — signed a two-year extension with the Cardinals through the 2026 season. NFL.com reported it is worth $8 million in guarantees.
“Every time you start thinking you’re in a good spot, or safe or anything, I think you start getting complacent,” Froholdt said early in training camp. “I still try not to think it’s my spot. I’ve been traveling around the league for quite a while and I’m happy to have found a place I can call home right now and I enjoy it.
“I’m just trying to have fun.”
Froholdt and his wife already happened to live in Arizona prior to his signing with the Cardinals. The one-time Patriots fourth-round pick in 2019 has also spent time with the Texans and Browns. It was in Cleveland where he was in the same offense with future Cardinals coaches Drew Petzing and Israel Woolfork, which gave the Cards intel when deciding to sign Froholdt as a free agent.
Froholdt played all 17 games last season, and 1,123 offensive snaps. His four top graded games from Pro Football Focus came in the final five-game stretch of last season, as the Cardinals offense came slowly together.
“He is exactly what you want in a Cardinal,” coach Jonathan Gannon said.
His is the second contract extension this month; linebacker Zaven Collins also got a two-year extension through 2026.
With Froholdt under contract, it leaves right guard Will Hernandez as the next potential offensive line extension. He and current first-unit left guard Evan Brown both are scheduled to be free agents after the season.
