Surplus of offensive linemen allowed the Arizona Cardinals to trade Josh Jones
By Jim Koch
Three years ago, the Arizona Cardinals believed they had struck gold with a third-round draft pick. After obtaining Josh Jones with the 72nd-overall selection, the club later revealed that they had the offensive lineman rated much higher. In fact, there were reports that the Redbirds would've been willing to part ways with a first-round choice for the rights to Jones.
Unfortunately, Jones never reached his full potential in the desert. On Thursday, the 26-year-old's stint with the Cards came to an end when he was traded to his hometown Houston Texans. There's no denying that Jones was talented, however, so wouldn't it have been worth it for Arizona's new regime to keep him around?
The fact of the matter is, the Cardinals have a surplus of experienced and capable blockers on the current roster. Jones was fighting an uphill battle with offensive tackles like D.J. Humphries, Paris Johnson Jr. and Kelvin Beachum ahead of him on the depth chart. Competition at guard includes Will Hernandez, Elijah Wilkinson, Pat Elflein and Dennis Daley.
Arizona Cardinals continue revamping of the roster with the trade of the versatile Josh Jones
It's not surprising that Cards general manager Monti Ossenfort would want to see what he could get for one of the squad's offensive-line assets. After all, Jones was scheduled to test the unrestricted free-agency waters in 2024. In this case, the organization recouped a fifth-round pick for the veteran, but did have to send a seventh-rounder along with Jones to Houston to cement the deal.
Jones certainly showed his versatility during his three years in Arizona. The 6 foot 5, 320 pounder started contests at both tackle and guard for the franchise. Jones appeared in 47 games for the Cardinals, and was credited with 21 starts.
The Texans needed someone who could fill in at right tackle while starter Tytus Howard is sidelined with a broken hand. For the team's part, Arizona wasn't going to pay $2.7 million in base salary to a player who was getting buried on the depth chart. We at Raisingzona.com wish Jones nothing but the best in his future endeavors.
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(Salary information provided by Spotrac.com)