Arizona Cardinals camp preview: Offensive line
By Scott Allen
The biggest area of deficiency in 2018 for the Arizona Cardinals has some changes in 2019
Certainly if there is one are the Arizona Cardinals can point to why they only finished 3-13 in 2018 would be the play of their offensive line. Cardinals quarterbacks were sacked 52 times last season, starter Josh Rosen 45 times alone.
One of the top priorities was to fix that this offseason. Well, some would argue it’s not fixed based on the moves general manager Steve Keim made over the past several months. However it would be hard to argue that at least he’s trying. Of the 90 spots on the training camp roster, 18 of them are offensive linemen.
Starters
Earlier we wrote about the battle we may see at center between Mason Cole and A.Q. Shipley. There are a lot of factors there that will decide who wins that contest.
Left tackle right now should belong to D.J. Humphries as long as he’s healthy. He could be challenged by the newest member of the line, Desmond Harrison who came over from the Cleveland Browns after being cut. That’s a big if on staying healthy for Humphries as well, same for Shipley. Stay tuned how progress is made during camp and preseason.
Left guard there should be a change. Former Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman J.R. Sweezy is now on the Cardinals roster. He will be an upgrade.
Right guard will belong to Justin Pugh. He too had a season ending injury last year and hopes to come back strong in his second season with the Cardinals.
Again, if he stays healthy, then Marcus Gilbert should be the right tackle. He comes over in a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers.