The Arizona Cardinals have not yet done anything in free agency to address their offensive line. All they have done thus far is renegotiate the contract of Justin Pugh to keep him on the roster as the team’s starting left guard.
Of the five starting jobs on the offensive line, one is up in the air — right guard.
As of right now, because no one has been signed in free agency and the draft has not happened, it appears that the job will be a battle between two players — Josh Jones and Justin Murray.
Max Garcia is a free agent still and the Cardinals could draft someone in the first round who presumably could start, but Murray and Jones appear to be the guys right now.
Jones got his first experience at guard last season and had ups and downs. He is a player the team is counting on to step up this next season.
Murray is a guy the coaches trust at guard and at tackle. He only played in three games last season before a back injury ended his season.
Murray perhaps is a better fit to be a reserve because of his versatility and the Cardinals are high on Jones, although he originally was expected to be a tackle. The signing of and play of Kelvin Beachum at right tackle made it so Jones needed to learn another position to be able to play.
If the Cardinals don’t make financial or draft commitment to another guard of significance, it will be one of the more interesting position battles to watch as the offseason program begins.
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