As a backup, Arizona Cardinals interior offensive lineman Trystan Colon knows you have to be ready at any moment to enter a game and play at a high level.
That moment happened last week when right guard Will Hernandez suffered a season-ending knee injury on a James Conner 14-yard run to the 2-yard line early in the fourth quarter of the eventual 24-23 victory.
Trailing 23-13, on the first play after Hernandez left the game, quarterback Kyler Murray ran to his left, but then stopped abruptly and lofted a pass to the back of the end zone that tight end Elijah Higgins caught for a touchdown.
Colon had quickly pulled to the left and helped sell the possibility of Murray running in that situation.
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said, “Certainly the gap-scheme actions are something that we try to hang our hat on a little bit because it does create that indecision. When you see guys pulling you see the double-teams on the front side. That’s part of who we want to be.”
Noting that it was Colon’s first play and that he executed it, Petzing said, “Yeah, really impressive.”
Colon was then on the field for the game-winning field-goal drive and Petzing said his play-calling wasn’t affected by Hernandez’s departure.
“I think that all speaks to him being ready for his opportunity,” Petzing said. “We saw that last year and that was a critical situation. He wasn’t expecting to be in the game and went out there and executed the plays to the best of his ability and allowed us to operate the offense at a high level. So I was really pleased with that.”
Last season, Colon often shared snaps in games at left guard with Elijah Wilkinson and started four games when Wilkinson was injured. For the season, he played 323 offensive snaps and practices at all three interior spots.
Noting that in addition to whatever reps he gets, Colon said he’s always “watching the guys, how they do the walkthrough, taking mental reps. We’ve practiced that play for a couple of weeks now, so we had a pretty good idea what’s gonna happen. (Offensive line) Coach (Klayton) Adams knew I was going in, so he pulled me aside to make sure I was good. I said, ‘Yeah, I’m good, I’m good. I gotcha.’ We’re always making sure we’re on the same page.”
Still, even with the time it took for Hernandez to leave the field, Colon didn’t know what the play-call would be until the team was in the huddle.
He said, “Any play can get called at any time, so that’s why you have to be sure you know the entire game plan through and through.”
Now, with Hernandez out, Colon will likely get the nod to start, but rookie Isaiah Adams and possibly Jon Gaines II will be ready to share snaps and play when called upon.
There have been reports that Adams will also play although he was inactive last week and the only six offensive snaps he played came late in the rout of the Rams. It might be because when head coach Jonathan Gannon was asked Friday if he’s comfortable and confident with whoever will replace Hernandez, he said, “I am. I’m excited for those guys to play.”
Was the plural “guys” a hint, or just how he talks? We’ll find out soon enough.
Meanwhile, Colon knows the big shoes that have to be filled.
“Will is Will,” he said. “You cannot replace Will Hernandez. That’s Big Mijo. I’m going to do my best. I’ve even gone as far as telling (tackle) Paris (Johnson Jr.), I’m going to try to work on my tap, make sure my tap looks the exact same. I’m going to do my best to try to imitate everything he brings. At the end of the day, Will’s a dog and he was a huge loss for our offense, but I’m going to do everything I can to make this transition period as good as possible.”
He believes that’s possible because “we have a pretty good chemistry going back to when I got here last year. Obviously, last year, I was a new guy coming in, so I think the chemistry thing was a little harder to build, but I think definitely now we hang out outside of the facility, outside practice and stuff like that. We’re a pretty close-knit group for the most part. So, I feel like that alone has made it an even easier transition when you’re having guys come in, guys go out, moving parts in the offensive line. So I like the fact that we have a good bond.
“I know the guys have my back. They’ve been talking to me all week and I feel like I’m ready to go. As a whole offensive line, we feel like we’re ready to go.”
To his left will be center Hjalte (Yelda) Froholdt and Kelvin Beachum to his right and Colon emphasized, “I know Yelda’s got my back, Beach’s got my back and they know I got their backs. As long as we keep that going through the entire game I think we’ll be fine.”
It’s also been helpful to concentrate on one position in practice.
“When you’re kind of like the backup rotational piece, you’re moving through all three spots during the week so you never have an idea of what’s going to happen,” he said. “This week, knowing you’re mainly playing one position going into the game usually makes it a lot easier. I can focus on this hip opening more, having to push down on my left foot a little bit more.”
Gannon said of Colon’s play last Sunday, “I thought he did some good things. I really did. He’s played a lot of ball for us, so I feel really good about him going in the game and playing.”
Colon said he was schooled in what’s important when he was with the Ravens early in his career.
He said, “Early on, one of my big bros, one of my best friends was Pat Ricard. He plays five positions and he took me under his wing when I first got in the league. It was like, ‘Hey, any moment, you could go in for these three so you gotta know the ins and outs of everything.’
“Having somebody like that early on to mentor you and help you out made it pretty easy for me to know what to look for, thinking about my technique when I would go to a different spot. How’s my feet offset here compared to when I’m at left guard or right guard? Which hand I’m punching. That was huge.”
Finally, noting what the Cardinals will face in the Packers’ front, Colon said, “They play extremely hard. They’re a real, physical group and they have non-stop motors. That’s something we’ve been challenging ourselves this week. We’ve just got to keep going and play hard.”
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