Hjalte Froholdt turned 28 on Tuesday and Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon made sure to tell his starting center to get himself a steak – which was already the plan.
"I said, 'No cake and ice cream,' and he said, 'No way,'" Gannon recounted. "Then we were talking about how he was going to get his steak done and he (said), 'It's just going to be bloody red.'"
Froholdt smiled Wednesday when told of Gannon's comments. "Raw," Froholdt said. "Just raw steak. Complete Liver King action."
Perhaps Froholdt spoke in jest – he said he went to a restaurant that could cook steak "better than I could ever cook it" – but the veteran had many reasons to be in a good mood, having also signed a two-year contract extension first thing Wednesday morning, keeping him in Arizona through the 2026 season with a reported $8 million in guaranteed money.
When Froholdt came to the Cardinals last season as a free agent, 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. He ended up as the starter and exceeding expectations.
"I am stoked to be able to dig in more roots here and really focus on what I need to do and not worry about the extracurricular stuff," Froholdt said.
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," Gannon said.
"He has been all-in on maximizing himself as a player and he's been all-in with how I want our guys to operate on a day-to-day basis," Gannon added.
The coach doesn't think Froholdt has hit his ceiling yet as a player. Froholdt said he still has some potential left – which dovetails into the reason for the extension. 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.
His teammates were thrilled to hear Froholdt's news and many congratulated him at the outset of Wednesday's practice.
"It was awesome," Froholdt said. "It was very genuine, it seemed like. It was good. I don't like all the attention, so I tried to tell them, 'Chill, chill, chill, chill, chill.'"
TIGHT END ADDED
The Cardinals made a roster move on Wednesday ahead of Sunday's preseason finale in Denver. The Cardinals signed UFL tight end Sage Surratt, who has spent time with the Lions and Chargers. He spent the past UFL season with Memphis. To make room on the roster, the team released wide receiver Daniel Arias.
