The loss of Arizona Cardinals right guard Will Hernandez for the season because of a knee injury suffered in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win over the 49ers will obviously lead to a new starter taking the field for Sunday’s game against the Packers in Green Bay.
Prior to Sunday, Hernandez had played every offensive snap this season.
So, who will be the “next man up?”
Trystan Colon replaced Hernandez against the 49ers and is likely the leader in the clubhouse.
“I thought he did some good things, I really did,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said of Colon on Monday. “He’s played a lot of ball for us, so I feel really good about him going in the game and playing.”
Asked about second-year man Jon Gaines II, who was active for the first time in his career against the 49ers with rookie guard Isaiah Adams inactive because of a thumb injury, possibly being in the mix, Gannon said, “We’ll see. Everyone will get reps in there and they all got to be ready to go. If you got a jersey on game day, you got to be ready to play. So those interior spots, we got multiple guys that can fill that role.
“Certain guys can play left and right, so we’ll find the best combination and those guys with their role changing now because of Will, will maximize their opportunity.”
Handling a lot of that will be line coach Klayton Adams. Said Gannon, “Klayton does a good job of mixing and matching those guys in practice. That’s how we do things anyhow. We’ll get the right blend and the right mix in there and they’ll be comfortable playing with each other and the communication piece is obviously very important with those guys. But we’ll be on point.
“The guys that we got, we feel good about and we’ll get the right lineup in there and go to work.”
Still, Gannon couldn’t sugarcoat the loss of Hernandez the day after the victory over the 49ers.
“He was playing really good ball for us,” Gannon said, and most important, added, “He’s an integral part to our toughness and our attitude and doing things the right way. Practicing the right way. Playing the right way. It’s a tough one to lose.
“But he’ll recover from it. He’ll get back and he’ll be back saddled up again. I’m sure of that, knowing him.”
The question is when and where.
Dr. David Chao (siscore.com/@ProFootballDoc on X) believes Hernandez has a significant MCL injury with possible ACL involvement and his current contract expires next March, meaning he’ll likely be rehabbing when free agency begins five months from now on March 12.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.