Tag: Jon Gaines

OL Jon Gaines expected to be back for training camp

Gaines missed his rookie season on injured reserve with a knee injury he suffered in the preseason finale.

Offensive lineman Jon Gaines, the Cardinals’ fourth-round pick in 2023, has become a bit of a forgotten man. But that is because he missed his entire rookie season.

He suffered a knee injury in the team’s final preseason game last year. It has been presumed to be a torn ACL.

When will he come back?

During OTAs, he was seen out with his teammates on the field, although he was not suited up and did not participate.

According to head coach Jonathan Gannon, Gaines should be ready to go “in some capacity” when training camp begins at the end of July.

That announcement makes it unlikely he will start camp on PUP (physically unable to perform) list.

Last year, he was slated to be the team’s backup center. Now he will have to work his way up the depth chart ahead of Trystan Colon, Keith Ismael and Evan Brown.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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In making draft projections, don’t sleep on Cardinals OL Jon Gaines II

Let’s not forget that Jon Gaines could be part of the Cardinals’ plans for the offensive line in 2024.

The most recent mock draft by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein projects the Arizona Cardinals will select Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson with the 27th pick in the first round. This selection perhaps overlooks the current state of the roster.

This is nothing anything against Powers-Johnson. However, with Arizona’s 2023 draft picks accounting for 108 games played and 52 starts, one draft pick from last year seemed to be overlooked. Center Jon Gaines II, who was selected in the fourth round, was impressive throughout training camp, but suffered a knee injury early in the final preseason game against the Vikings and was on injured reserve for the entire season. Had he not gotten injured, those games played and games started very possibly would have been even higher, especially considering the Cardinals ended up starting four different players at left guard.

It is believed Gaines underwent surgery, but he is busy rehabbing and very much in the team’s plans going forward. He could end up playing guard, but the play of Hjalte Froholdt and a healthy Gaines should have the Cardinals going in a different direction late in the first round.

At the NFL combine, general manager Monti Ossenfort said of Gaines, “Jon was off to a good start and unfortunately, we keep coming back to these injuries. It’s too bad. But Jon is doing well. Jon is doing really well. He’s in the building every day. He’s rehabbing with us onsite. I love Jon. Jon’s got a good future ahead of him. It was unfortunate with that injury happening in the third preseason game. But he’s making progress, he’s grinding through his rehab and we’re excited to get to a point where we can get him back out on the field.”

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Cardinals had 3 notable injuries in preseason win over Vikings

O-linemen Jon Gaines and Dennis Daley, both expected to be on the 53-man roster, suffered injuries in the preseason finale.

The Arizona Cardinals finished the preseason with an 18-17 come-from-behind win over the Minnesota Vikings. In the game, they suffered three injuries of note.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon mentioned them after the game in his press conference.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Rookie OL Jon Gaines suffers knee injury

He left the preseason finale after only one play.

The one thing you don’t want to see in a preseason game is players getting injured. All it took was one offensive play and the Arizona Cardinals had to deal with one.

After one offensive play, rookie center Jon Gaines injured his right knee.

He had to be assisted off the field but was able to walk. He was carted to the locker room.

It was announced he was questionable to return, although his return in the game seems unlikely.

The fourth-round pick out of UCLA was lined up to be the Cardinals’ backup center.

Hopefully it isn’t an injury that causes him to lose time.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Cardinals training camp roster preview: OL Jon Gaines

We take a look at rookie OL Jon Gaines and his chances of making the final roster.

The Arizona Cardinals open training camp at the end of this month, so we will do a roster review, highlighting each player currently on the roster, going over last season, their salary and cap number, questions they face and what their expected roster status will be.

Next up is OL Jon Gaines.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

The Cardinals’ rookies who have a shot at starting

The Cardinals have a young team. These rookies have at least a reasonable shot at being in the starting lineup.

The Arizona Cardinals have 20 rookies on their roster. They drafted nine players and have 11 undrafted rookies they added since the draft.

Many will be lucky to make the team. Some should have contributing roles.

Some have a real shot at being starters.

Which rookies are those?

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Contract details for 4th-round pick OL Jon Gaines

Gaines’ four-year rookie contract is worth a total of more than $4.57 million.

The Arizona Cardinals have signed seven of their nine player selections from the 2023 NFL draft. Each player got a four-year contract and first-round pick Paris Johnson gets his deal fully guaranteed with a team option for a fifth season.

The details of some of the rookie contracts are in.

Let’s see about the Cardinals’ fourth-round pick, offensive lineman Jon Gaines.

His deal is four years and worth a total of more than $4.57 million.

He receives a signing bonus of $732,240.

His salary is the league minimum each year:

  • 2023: $750,000
  • 2024: $915,000
  • 2025: $1.03 million
  • 2026: $1.15 million

Salary cap implications

Gaines’ cap hit each season is not complicated. Each year, it will be his salary plus the proration of his signing bonus, spread out over the four years.

His cap hit each year will be as follows:

  • 2023: $933,000
  • 2024: $1.1 million
  • 2025: $1.21 million
  • 2026: $1.33 million

If he plays enough in one season or over the first three seasons, he can see a salary bump in 2026 to equal a restricted free agent tender salary.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Cardinals sign 1st-round pick Paris Johnson, 4 other draft picks

Paris Johnson, Michael Wilson, Jon Gaines, Clayton Tune and Owen Pappoe all signed their rookie contracts before the start of rookie minicamp.

The Arizona Cardinals were able to get over half their 2023 draft class under contract before the start of rookie minicamp on Friday. The team announced five of their nine draft picks signed their rookie contracts, including first-round pick Paris Johnson.

These were the draft picks to sign on Thursday at the team’s headquarters in Tempe.

  • OL Paris Johnson (Round 1, pick 6 overall)
  • WR Michael Wilson (Round 3, pick 94 overall)
  • OL Jon Gaines (Round 4, pick 122 overall)
  • QB Clayton Tune (Round 5, pick 139 overall)
  • LB Owen Pappoe (Round 5, pick 168 overall)

Johnson’s contract, as a first-round pick, is four years with a team option for a fifth year.

The rest of the draft picks signed standard four-year contracts.

The following draft picks remain unsigned:

  • LB B.J. Ojulari (Round 2)
  • CB Garrett Wilson (Round 3)
  • CB Kai’Trel Clark (Round 6)
  • DL Dante Stills (Round 6)

With how rookie contracts are slotted and designed in the current collective bargaining agreement, there is no reason to think that the remaining draft picks won’t get signed in the near future.

Rookie holdouts are basically a thing of the past.

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Cardinals’ grade for 4th-round pick Jon Gaines: A

The Cardinals’ selection of OL Jon Gaines in the fourth round was fantastic.

The Arizona Cardinals used their fourth-round pick to select UCLA offensive lineman Jon Gaines. He started games at guard, center and tackle. He is incredibly athletic. He is very intelligent.

What grade do they get for the pick?

Grade: A

While every pick that wasn’t center Luke Wypler was a bit of a surprise, getting to know more about Gaines makes him a slam dunk.

In addition to being a freak athlete, he has experience and smarts.

He also fits the profile of an analytic cheat code. He ran the short shuttle in 4.45 seconds. Since 2010, 24 of the 28 linemen who had a short shuttle of at least 4.47 seconds were drafted and those 24 players have started 84% of their games played. A 25th player, Jake Brendel, who went undrafted and now is the starting center for the 49ers.

As a fourth-round pick, his athleticism, versatility and intelligence make him a heck of a pick. He could easily be a starter this season.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Analytics suggest Cardinals got an absolute steal in OL Jon Gaines

Gaines’ short shuttle time was 4.45 seconds. 24 OL drafted with doing it in at least 4.47 seconds have started 84% of their games in the NFL.

The Arizona Cardinals drafted UCLA guard Jon Gaines in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft. Two things about him stand out — his athleticism and his versatility.

While at UCLA, he started games at guard, tackle and center.

With his athletic testing, one metric suggests he will be a longtime NFL starter, which is about the best you can expect from a Day draftee.

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Among Gaines’ elite testing numbers, he ran the shuttle in 4.45 seconds.

Josh Norris shares this statistical nugget that should excite Cardinals fans about Gaines.

Since 2010, 28 offensive linemen have recorded a short shuttle time of 4.47 seconds or better.

Of those 28, 24 were drafted and have started 84% of their games played.

A 25th player, Jake Brendel, who was undrafted, is now the starting center for the San Francisco 49ers.

Gaines’ short shuttle time was 4.45 seconds.

The trend over the last more than a decade shows that this is the single-most influential single testing number for a position to predict NFL success.

The Cardinals have potential starting jobs open at left guard and at center.

Could he prove to be a Day 3 gem as we look back at the class in a few years?

It would appear there is a good chance.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.