Arizona Cardinals roster flooded with offensive linemen

The Arizona Cardinals have collected an abundance of offensive linemen, hoping that they’ll fix what has become a yearly problem

The Arizona Cardinals have been loading up these days. Not loading up on victories, mind you. There have been just two of those for the Cards this season, to be exact.

What Arizona has loaded up with this year is offensive linemen. Anyone who follows the team is well aware of the struggle that the club’s front office has had in assembling a productive group of blockers. Cardinals general manager Steve Keim is looking to remedy the problem by signing bodies off of the street, and hoping to find a diamond in the rough or two while doing so.

With two new offensive line additions made within the last couple of weeks, the Cards now have a total of 11 at the position. That’s a large number, even for a team that’s searching for individuals who can improve their blocking unit. The offensive line makes up roughly one-fifth of Arizona’s roster, which is startling considering the fact that the squad could use help in other areas as well.

Out of the current starting five, only right guard Justin Pugh and rookie center Mason Cole are locks to be brought back next year. Left guard Mike Iupati‘s time with the Cardinals is almost certainly winding down. Both tackle spots could use an upgrade, since D.J.Humphries and Andre Smith have been mediocre at best.

Cole is actually one of four rookie linemen on the Cards’ active roster. Tackle Korey Cunningham was drafted in the seventh round this past spring. Colby Gossett was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of this year’s draft, while Zack Golditch was an undrafted free agent.

Two veteran backups were inked to deals over the last couple of months. Guard Jeremy Vujnovich, a 16-game starter for the Indianapolis Colts in 2017, arrived in early September. Tackle Oday Aboushi, who joined Arizona on October 23rd, has 26 NFL starts under his belt.

It comes as no surprise that the Cardinals’ offensive line will once again need fixing next offseason. The eleven currently employed by the organization are being evaluated at this very moment. How many of that contingent will be back in ’19 is a question that only Keim and his assistants can answer.