Minnesota Vikings right tackle Phil Loadholt?informed team officials Monday that he will retire.Sources said Loadholt decided to retire due to soreness in his surgically repaired Achilles tendon and other aches and pains. Loadholts injuries have taken a toll on a player who signed a $25 million extension in 2013.This chapter in my life is closing and I look forward to seeing what the next one brings. Ill always love this game and the opportunity to do something I dreamed about since I was seven years old. But, my body is telling me its time to hang up my cleats, Loadholt said in a statement released by the Vikings.Loadholt becomes the 14th NFL player 30 years of age or younger to retire this year.Loadholt, 30, missed the entire 2015 season due to a torn Achilles tendon, which he suffered during the second preseason game. His last regular-season game as a Viking was on Nov. 23, 2014. He missed the final five games of that season due to a torn pectoral muscle.Before the veteran offensive lineman dealt with injury issues the past few years, the 2009 second-round pick had played in 67 straight games from Week 6 of the 2009 season through Week 9 in 2013.When you think of the Vikings you think of players like Phil Loadholt. He carried himself as a professional and gave his all for his teammates. Phil will be a Viking for life. He was a great player and a better person. We wish him and his family all the best, Vikings owner Mark Wilf said in the statement.Earlier this year, the Vikings signed former Cincinnati Bengals starting right tackle Andre Smith to compete for a starting job against Loadholt. Smith, 29, signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with $1 million guaranteed. Air Max 97 Womens Sale Australia . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. 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Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division.TORONTO -- Hes still unsigned just over three weeks before CFL training camps are scheduled to open, but Noel Prefontaine still has reason to smile. For the first time in years, the veteran kicker/punter is pain-free. The 39-year-old was limited to seven regular-season games last season after being forced to undergo major hip surgery in the summer. He returned earlier than expected to help the Toronto Argonauts win the historic 100th Grey Cup game but was released less than a month later. After starting his off-season workouts in March -- two months later than usual to give his hip more recovery time -- Prefontaine is no longer experiencing the lower back and hip pain he endured for years before finally going under the knife. Prefontaine admits hes not ready yet to resume playing but remains intent on continuing his CFL career. And when Prefontaine returns to the field, it will likely after a teams regular punter or kicker is injured or struggles badly once the 2013 season begins. A California native, Prefontaine is deemed a non-import in the CFL because he spent time growing up in Quebec. "My hip feels really good right now and I still feel I can be productive and help a football team win," he said. "Im still a good two months away from being game-ready in my opinion but there are no after-affects anymore. "Im no longer going out there to kick and having to take a few days or a week off to let it rest. I can pretty much go out and kick every day right now." The five-foot-11, 205-pound Prefontaine began his CFL career with Toronto in 1998 and spent 10 seasons with the Argos -- with a stint in the XFL and NFL tryouts with Baltimore and Kansas City before being dealt to Edmonton prior to the 2008 season. The Eskimos dealt Prefontaine back to the Argos in October 2010. The six-time league all-star and two-time Grey Cup champion has appeared in 235 career CFL regular-season games. Prefontaine boasts a career 45.8-yard punting average and has made 332-of-457 career field goal attempts (72.6 per cent). Prefontaine opened the 2012 season with Toronto but the club looked to American rookie Swayze Waters to handle its kicking and punting duties in Prefontaines absence. Prefontaine returned ahead of schedule to resume punting chores after Waters suffered a hand injury that prevented him from handling third-down snaps. There didnt appear to be anything wrong with Prefontaines hip in Torontos 35-22 Grey Cup win over Calgary at Rogers Centre last November. He averaged a soolid 44.dddddddddddd6 yards on seven punts but admitted afterwards he was nowhere near 100 per cent. Prefontaine said hes been working out four-to-five times weekly this off-season and has spent time on the field kicking and punting. And each time, Prefontaine adds, his back has been more than able to handle the workload. "Im able to do all the things I need to do in order to prepare for a season," he said. "Im not kicking every day but I am training with weightlifting, doing cardio and running in addition to kicking. "Its really the only thing I know in terms of getting ready for the season and Im just going to approach it that way." When Toronto released Prefontaine in December, GM Jim Barker kept the door open to Prefontaine possibly returning sometime down the road. That would certainly be ideal for Prefontaine, a married father of two young children with a baby girl due in July who has an off-season job with Canadian Title Loans, a Toronto-based company that provides vehicle finance options to consumers. Prefontaine says hed consider playing for any team once hes healthy. Last season, Prefontaine was able to play football and work with Canadian Title Loans during the season and would prefer to have a similar situation in 2013. Thats because Prefontaine understands, given his age and health issues, his CFL tenure will continue on a year-to-year basis although Prefontaine believes he has at least three good seasons left in him. "I think theres a lot of question marks for teams," Prefontaine said. "I think there were question marks for Toronto. "I have no ill will towards Toronto, if I was sitting in their shoes looking at my situation I wouldve done the same thing. The only thing I can do as a player is get ready, get an opportunity to play again this year and show I can do it at a high level." Even if that means being employed as just a punter or kicker. Id be open to that," Prefontaine said. "Im training and preparing to do all three because Ill never know exactly what issue a team is going to have. "If a team needs me to do just one Im fine with that." But should Prefontaines CFL career be over, having it end on a winning note in an iconic championship game isnt a shabby way to go. "The way I see it, Ive accomplished a lot in this game," he said. "Ive had the privilege of playing for 15 years and if this is how its supposed to end, then it really couldnt end any better." ' ' '