Cardinals have multiple lower-cost options available on roster for RT job in 2020

Five players currently on the roster could be in the mix. Some will be free agents but could be re-signed and it won’t cost much.

Believe it or not, the Arizona Cardinals were pleased with the play of their offensive line in 2019. Yes, they allowed 50 sacks but multiple metrics show they were a solid unit. One is the fact they were a top-10 rushing offense and No. 2 in the league in yards per attempt. They also rank highly as a unit in a key pass-blocking metric.

It is known the team would like to re-sign left tackle D.J. Humphries and center A.Q. Shipley. Their starting guards of Justin Pugh and J.R. Sweezy are under contract for 2020.

The one position they viably could address is right tackle. It was the one position there were questions about. They could address the position in free agency but they don’t necessarily have to go out and be big spenders. They have multiple players they could bring back for the job in 2020.

None will cost much.

Marcus Gilbert

Gilbert is the most talented of the group by far. However, he never played a down, tearing his ACL in practice before the first game. He will be an unrestricted free agent. The Cardinals could re-sign him and because of his age and injury history, he won’t command much money. However, it would be foolish for the Cardinals to just count on him to be the starter.

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The Cardinals’ 6 biggest surprises of 2019

The Cardinals had several players perform at a much higher level and have a much bigger role than probably anyone expected.

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t have a surprisingly good year in 2019. They improved to 5-10-1 and more or less finished the season where people believed they should be.

However, they did get some surprise contributions and performances from players fans didn’t expect.

Who were the biggest surprises of 2019?

OL Justin Murray

Murray wasn’t even on the team in the offseason. He was a waiver claim after final cuts and appeared to simply be a guy they wanted for depth. After all, what could be expected from a player who had played two career games and had been cut by five different teams in a little more than three years?

He became the starter and wasn’t bad. He missed two games because of a knee injury but played 14 games and started 12.

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Cardinals RT Justin Murray honored by PFF for play vs. 49ers

He did not allow even a single pressure against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Arizona Cardinals got right tackle Justin Murray back in the starting lineup on Sunday after two games being out with an injured knee. There didn’t appear to be any rust.

In his return to the lineup, he earned a spot on Pro Football Focus’ team of the week for Week 11.

Murray graded out solidly.

Murray allowed zero pressures across his 42 pass-blocking snaps en route to an 85.2 pass-blocking grade on Sunday.

He mostly had to block Arik Armstead.

Murray has been a surprising success this season. Acquired via a waiver claim and playing on his sixth team in four seasons, he was expected to be a backup. However, he was forced into action as a starter because of Marcus Gilbert’s torn ACL and has been solid.

If he stacks a few games like this, he might find himself with the team in 2020 and beyond.

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

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