Tag: Will Hernandez

Cardinals make O-line change on roster

Check out who replaces guard Will Hernandez on the active roster after he is placed on injured reserve.

The Arizona Cardinals made a pair of roster moves to address the offensive line. They placed Will Hernandez on injured reserve and signed tackle Charlie Heck from the practice squad to the active roster.

Hernandez suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sunday in the team’s 24-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Heck played in the last three games but after being elevated from the practice squad. He was out of standard elevations. The Cardinals did not have a backup tackle on the roster so Heck was a logical choice to sign.

With Hernandez placed on injured reserve, Trystan Colon now replaces him in the starting lineup. Heck, Jon Gaines II and rookie Isaiah Adams are the three backup linemen on the roster. Rookie tackle Christian Jones will be activated to the 53-man roster off injured reserve within the next two weeks.

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.

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Who will replace the injured Will Hernandez at right guard for the Cardinals?

A look at what could be coming at right guard and what Jonathan Gannon said about it.

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.

 

OL Will Hernandez to miss rest of season with knee injury

The Cardinals lose Will Hernandez for the rest of season.

The Arizona Cardinals have suffered another blow to the offensive line. After losing starting right tackle Jonah Williams to a knee injury, perhaps for entire season, they now must replace their starting right guard.

Will Hernandez will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa rolled up on Hernandez’ leg in the second half of the Cardinals’ 24-23 win and he had to leave the game.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported the injury was season-ending and head coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed that Hernandez would be placed on injured reserve and be out the rest of the season.

Hernandez was in the final year of his contract and playing well.

Now the Cardinals will have to play with backups at both right guard and right tackle for the foreseeable future.

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.

 

76 days till the Cardinals’ season opener against the Bills

Guard Will Hernandez has been a pretty impactful No. 76 for the last two years for the Cardinals.

As we start another week in June, we are 76 days away from the Arizona Cardinals’ first regular-season game on the road against the Buffalo Bills on September 8.

The Cardinals’ current No. 76 is a pretty good one.

It is starting right guard Will Hernandez.

He has been an impactful No. 76.

He has started 30 games over the last two seasons for them. He signed a one-year deal in 2022 and re-signed on a two-year contract last offseason. He is the unquestioned starter at right guard and, of the starters, is the meanest of the offensive line group.

He is physical and has perhaps been their most consistent lineman over the last two seasons.

The last two Cardinals players to wear No. 76 — Hernandez and guard Mike Iupati — both are cut from the same cloth. They are big and physical.

Just 76 days until the Cardinals’ regular season.

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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James Conner, Will Hernandez got 2024 roster bonuses

Conner was due $1.5 million and Will Hernandez $500,000 on March 18.

The Arizona Cardinals have been busy in the offseason working in free agency, re-signing players who were on the team last season and adding new ones in free agency.

Two Cardinals players already under contract got bonuses.

Running back James Conner and starting right guard Will Hernandez each received roster bonuses as part of their contracts.

Both are entering the final year of their contracts and often teams use a roster bonus to make a decision about keeping a player on the roster moving forward, extending him or moving on.

The league year began March 13. Conner was due a $1.5 million roster bonus on March 18. Hernandez was due a $500,000 roster bonus on the same date.

Conner is due a salary of $4.235 million in 2024 and up to $255,000 in per-game roster bonuses.

Hernandez’ 2024 salary is $3.15 million and can make up to $425,000 in per-game roster bonuses.

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

 

Players, matchups to watch for Cardinals vs. Ravens

Some players and matchups to watch in the Cardinals’ Week 8 battle against the Ravens.

The Arizona Cardinals face the Baltimore Ravens Sunday hoping to end a four-game losing streak.

To do that, they will need some solid play from several players and in several matchups.

What players and matchups do we need to watch in the game?

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

 

Cardinals inactives: Will Hernandez, Josh Woods to play vs. Bengals

Will Hernandez, questionable to play, was good to go in Week 5. Josh Woods returned to the lineup after missing three games.

The Arizona Cardinals got a little healthier in Week 5. Linebacker Josh Woods, out of the lineup since Week 1 with an ankle injury, returned and was active against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Offensive lineman Will Hernandez, who was questionable for the game after missing some practice time with a back injury, also was good to go. Both players were active.

The Cardinals’ inactive players were no surprise:

Arizona Cardinals Week 5 inactive list

  • S Quantrezz Knight
  • RB Keaontay Ingram
  • OL Carter O’Donnell
  • TE Elijah Higgins
  • DL Jonathan Ledbetter

Knight, O’Donnell and Higgins were healthy scratches. O’Donnell and Higgins had not been active yet this season. Ledbetter missed his second straight game with a finger injury.

Ingram missed for the second straight game with a neck problem. Corey Clement was elevated to the active roster to replace him. Ben Stille was elevated to play on the defensive line with Ledbetter out.

Cornerback Starling Thomas was active for the first time this season.

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

OL Dennis Daley remains on IR; Will Hernandez could be good to go vs. Bengals

The Arizona Cardinals did not activate OL Dennis Daley, suggesting that Will Hernandez could be ready to play vs. the Bengals.

The Arizona Cardinals announced a pair of roster moves on Saturday, elevating a pair of players from the practice squad to the active roster. What was notable was the roster move they did not make.

They did not activate offensive lineman Dennis Daley from injured reserve. He had been designated to return and practiced all week, getting limited work on Wednesday and Thursday and was a full participant on Friday.

Starting right guard Will Hernandez is officially questionable for the game with a back injury. With Daley remaining on IR, it suggests that Hernandez should be okay to play. Hernandez was limited on Thursday and did not practice on Friday.

The Cardinals only have nine offensive linemen on the roster after the release of Ilm Manning earlier in the week. Tackle Carter O’Donnell has not yet been active this season, so it would make sense that Hernandez was planning on playing, leaving Kelvin Beachum, Trystan Colon and Keith Ismael as the backups.

Teams must have eight offensive linemen active for games.

The Cardinals and Bengals kick off Sunday afternoon from State Farm Stadium at 1:05 p.m. Arizona 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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Behind Enemy Lines: Week 2 Q&A with Cardinals Wire

With a Week 2 matchup between the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Cardinals Wire.

The New York Giants (0-1) and Arizona Cardinals (0-1) will square off on Sunday afternoon in a Week 2 matchup at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The Giants opened the week as 4.5-point road favorites, but the spread has gotten a little worse with New York now at -4.

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Cardinals Wire managing editor Jess Root.

Cardinals training camp roster preview: OL Will Hernandez

We take a look at OL Will Hernandez and his chances for making the team in 2023 as the team begins training camp.

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 Will Hernandez.

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