Former first-round pick reportedly meeting with Cardinals

Free-agent offensive lineman Billy Price, a former first-round draft pick, will reportedly meet with the Arizona Cardinals about a possible contract.

With the 2022 NFL Draft now over, the roster for the upcoming regular season is very close to being complete for the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals don’t have very much to spend on any new players at this moment (about $3 million in cap space), but they are still seeing if there are any affordable options in the free-agent market worth adding to their team.

On Sunday, ESPN’s Jeremey Fowler revealed that free-agent offensive lineman Billy Price is expected to visit with Arizona in the near future. Price, who was a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, spent last season with the New York Giants after playing his first three years in the league as a member of Cincinnati.

What could Billy Price add to the Arizona Cardinals?

Despite being selected in the first round back in 2018, Price‘s tenure in the league has been pretty underwhelming.

He was one of the worst starting centers in the NFL during his first two seasons, which included him losing his job in the Bengals’ starting offense before the start of the 2019 campaign.

Cincinnati ended up trading Price to the Giants last August in exchange for defensive lineman B.J. Hill. With New York last season, the 27-year-old blocker started in 15 games, and he was graded as the 26th-best center in the NFL by PFF (out of 39).

Price has lined up primarily as a center during his time in the league, which makes the Cardinals’ interest in him a bit puzzling since they already have someone starting in the middle of their offensive line in Rodney Hudson.

Hudson did miss five games last year though, so perhaps Arizona is interested in upgrading their depth behind him. If Price is okay with being a backup next season, then he will probably be able to work out a deal with the Cardinals. If not, then Arizona will likely say “thanks, but no thanks.”