The Arizona Cardinals have four of their five starting offensive line positions locked in. The for-sure starters include LT Paris Johnson Jr., C Hjalte Froholdt, RG Will Hernandez, and RT Jonah Williams. The only vacancy on their offensive line is the LG spot. Their free agent acquisition from 2023 started most of their games at that spot.
The Arizona Cardinals free agent acquisition from last season started most of the season at left guard
The Cardinals signed Elijah Wilkinson last offseason. Wilkinson won the starting LG job ahead of the 2023 season. Unfortunately, he struggled and battled a neck injury that caused him to miss seven games. He had 25 pressures, 18 hurries, four hits, three sacks allowed, and a 46.2 PFF grade.
The Cardinals did re-sign him but didn’t feel confident with him as the starter moving forward. They decided to bring in some competition by signing an interior offensive lineman.
The Arizona Cardinals signed a seven-year interior offensive lineman
The Cardinals signed Evan Brown this offseason.
Brown is on his sixth team and his seventh year in the league. He has played 57 games with 40 starts so far and has logged over 70 snaps at LG, 1,700 snaps at C, and 700 at RG, per PFF. He played 16 games and started 16 at C with the Seahawks in 2023, with 27 pressures, 21 hurries, three hits, three sacks allowed, and a 55.5 PFF grade.
So far, he has impressed and has taken the early lead. Their head coach is impressed with his performance.
Jonathan Gannon is impressed with Evan Brown
“His football character is awesome. He’s a guy that loves to practice, loves to train,” Jonathan Gannon said. “He’s extremely intelligent and he’s a powerful cat. He can apply force into the ground and into his opponent, so that’s been cool to see.”
Brown and Wilkinson aren’t the only players in the mix for the starting job.
The Arizona Cardinals have many other players competing for the starting spot
Four other players will compete for the same starting spot, including Isaiah Adams, Carter O’Donnell, Trystan Colon, and Jon Gaines II.
Adams, a third-round rookie, started 12 games at LG with Illinois in college. O’Donnell is on his second team and his fifth year in the league. He started three games at LG in 2023 for the Cardinals. Colon is on his third team and his fifth year in the league. He started four games at LG in 2023 for the Cardinals. Finally, Gaines, a fourth-round pick from 2023, sat out of the 2023 season with a knee injury.
