Arizona Cardinals have a new starter at right guard for 2021

The Arizona Cardinals announced that second-year offensive lineman Josh Jones will be the franchise’s starting right guard in 2021.

Heading into this summer’s training camp, there was one spot on the offensive line of the Arizona Cardinals that was still up for grabs.

A void among the group was created when last season’s starter at right guard, J.R. Sweezy, was not welcomed back to the desert. Instead, the Cards elected to hold a three-man competition to replace the 32-year-old Sweezy.

On Tuesday, Arizona’s first official depth chart of 2021 listed second-year professional Josh Jones as the starting right guard. Offensive line coach Sean Kugler has been waiting for the Houston product to step up and show him something, and it appears that he finally has.

Arizona Cardinals new right guard beat out two veterans for the starting job

When the Cards inked free agent Brian Winters to a one-year deal back in March, many observers believed that the veteran would run with the offensive line’s first team. After all, the 30-year-old had appeared in 105 games (88 starts) as a pro during his eight campaigns in the NFL. Just last year, Winters played in all 16 contests, logging nine starts for the Buffalo Bills.

Another candidate for the Redbirds at right guard was Justin Murray, a versatile 28-year-old who joined the organization two years ago. The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder has been employed by six different squads since he entered the league with the Denver Broncos back in 2016. It now appears that Murray will be the number-one backup for Kelvin Beachum at the right tackle post.

The fact that Jones emerged victorious over a pair of much more experienced linemen could be considered somewhat of a surprise. It’s now time for Arizona’s third-round draft selection of a year ago to show that he’s worthy of the huge promotion he just received.