Tag: Will Hernandez

Cardinals O-linemen Rodney Hudson, Will Hernandez expected to be out Week 10

The Cardinals will likely have three backups on the interior of the offensive line when they face the Rams this weekend.

The Arizona Cardinals have been dealing with a number of injuries on the interior of the offensive line. Already without left guard Justin Pugh for the rest of the season, they are not expected to have either center Rodney Hudson or right guard Will Hernandez in the lineup when they face the Los Angeles Rams on the road in Week 10.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury does not expect either to play this weekend.

Hudson has already missed the last five weeks with a nagging knee injury.

Kingsbury said, “I don’t know about this week,” when asked if Hudson could possibly be back to face the Rams.

“I feel like it’s progressing,” he said. “I just don’t know how soon he’ll get back.”

Hernandez suffered a pectoral injury in Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks.

While Kingsbury normally would say it would be a day-to-day scenario, he would not say that with Hernandez.

“I would say this week he’ll be down, and we’ll go from there,” he said.

He hopes his injury is not season-ending.

At center, Billy Price could start for the fourth straight game but it could also be Sean Harlow.

At right guard, it could be Max Garcia, currently day-to-day with a shoulder injury, or rookie Lecitucs Smith, who filled in after Hernandez exited with the injury.

The Cardinals will have a walkthrough on Wednesday and practice Thursday in preparation for their Week 10 road game against the Rams.

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No suspension coming for Will Hernandez; could be fined

Hernandez will still be able to play in Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles after getting ejected vs. the Panthers.

Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Will Hernandez was ejected in the second half of the team’s 26-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. He was tossed, getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct against an official.

He will not be suspended, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He could receive a fine.

The incident occurred after Panthers linebacker Frankie Luvu threw running back James Conner to the ground after the play had been whistled dead. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct but Hernandez went to confront Luvu and defend Conner.

However, on the way to get to Luvu, he ran into one of the officials. He did not push him but did go through him to get to Luvu.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said what Hernandez did can’t happen.

“You can’t have that,” he told reporters Monday. “In that situation, we had a lineman down already, so we’ve got to be smarter than that. You do appreciate him having his teammates back and they all know that, but we can’t put our team in that type of position.”

This is good news for the Cardinals about there being no suspension. They might have to play without left guard Justin Pugh, who is again day-to-day with an elbow injury.

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Giants roster turnover: 13 new Week 1 starters compared to 2021

When the New York Giants take on the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, 13 different players will start compared to Week 1 of last season.

The New York Giants saw significant change this offseason as yet another rebuild was ushered in under the leadership of first-time general manager Joe Schoen.

In addition to a front office and scouting overhaul, the Giants also saw significant roster turnover. Nearly 50 percent of the roster was altered in some way, shape or form and that will be represented in Week 1 of the 2022 regular season.

When the Giants take on the Tennessee Titans, 13 Week 1 starters from last year’s team will have been replaced — some outright and some due to injury.

Here’s a quick look at those 13 changes from 2021 to 2022.

Cardinals’ Justin Pugh thanks Giants for Will Hernandez

Arizona Cardinals OL Justin Pugh publicly thanked the New York Giants for allowing Will Hernandez to leave via free agency.

It seems that former New York Giants offensive lineman Justin Pugh is grateful to be teammates with another former member of Big Blue.

Pugh is pleased to have Will Hernandez joining him on the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive front this year — so much show he publicly thanked the Giants.

Hernandez was a second-round pick our of UTEP by the Giants in 2018 and his career began with much promise. His performance fell off, however, in his third and fourth seasons, often struggling in pass protection.

Hernandez was known for his feistiness and that endeared him to the Giants but they had seen enough and allowed him to leave via free agency.

Pugh was the Giants’ first-round pick out of Syracuse back in 2013. He played both tackle and guard for five seasons before leaving for Arizona via free agency in 2018. He was ironically replaced by Hernandez that year in the draft.

In a further twist, Hernandez was signed by the Cardinals to replace veteran Max Garcia at guard. Garcia signed with the Giants as a free agent this spring.

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Bleacher Report gives Giants C- in 2018 NFL draft re-grade

In a 2018 NFL draft re-grade, Bleacher Report gives the New York Giants a letter grade of C- and that’s being very generous.

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Many pundits believe the New York Giants’ losing ways have been proliferated by poor drafting and point to the 2018 NFL draft as the linchpin of that argument.

The Giants held the second overall selection in the draft that year, which was being touted as having one of the best quarterback classes in years. The Giants kew that Eli Manning only had a year or two of productivity left and were in position to take Manning’s successor.

They did not.

The Cleveland Browns selected Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield — the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner — with the first pick. The Giants then grabbed Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the second pick, passing on several quarterbacks, including USC’s Sam Darnold, Josh Allen of Wyoming, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson of Louisville.

We now know how all of that worked out. Allen and Jackson are superstars while the others have bounced around the league. Barkley’s career has hit the skids due to injuries after a breakout rookie season.

Bleacher Report recently revised that draft and assigned Giants and then general manager Dave Gettleman a C- grade. Barkley is the only player from that draft class that is still the Giants.

“The idea of taking the best available player sounds good until it leads to taking a running back No. 2 overall when the team needs a quarterback,” writes BR’s Ian Wharton. “Imagine where the New York Giants could be today had they drafted and developed either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson rather than Saquon Barkley.”

Water under the bridge. The Giants took a quarterback the next season in the first round, Duke’s Daniel Jones, who the jury is still out on. Had the Giants hit on Jones, few would be so critical of their 2018 draft performance.

The other players taken in 2018 are: UTEP OG Will Hernandez (No. 34 overall), Georgia LB Lorenzo Carter (No. 66 overall), NC State DT B.J. Hill (No. 69 overall), Richmond QB Kyle Lauletta (No. 108 overall), Miami DT R.J. McIntosh (No. 139 overall).

All five of these players are still in the league with other teams after up-and-down careers with the Giants. Wharton pretty much acknowledged that in his closing statement.

“We aren’t going to punish the Giants for their decision to draft Barkley at No. 2 since he was a star for two years. The rest of this draft class was a mediocre group who underachieved after a coaching change, though,” he wrote.

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3 Cardinals who could surprise fans in 2022

Every season, there are players who exceed their offseason expectations. Who could those players possibly be for the Cardinals in 2022?

Every NFL season, players have breakout seasons that aren’t expected from the fans. The Arizona Cardinals, who have made it a priority to retain most of their free agents from last season, could use a few of those breakout performers.

Jalen Thompson’s emergence as a rookie supplemental draft pick is a perfect example. The free agent acquisition of Kelvin Beachum sliding over to right tackle is another.

Who are some candidates for a surprise breakout player in 2022?

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76 days till the Cardinals’ 2022 season opener vs. Chiefs

Here are some of the Cardinals’ players over the years to wear No. 76.

As we begin another week in the offseason on a fine Monday, we are now 76 days away from meaningful Arizona Cardinals football. In 76 days, the Cardinals will open the regular season in Week 1 at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

New guard Will Hernandez wears No. 76 for the team this year.

Check out who else has worn No. 76 for the Cardinals over the years.

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5 Cardinals seeking bounce-back season in 2022

Whether it was injury, lack of playing time or ineffectiveness, these players seek to show more in 2022 than they did in previous years.

The Arizona Cardinals enter 2022 expecting to have a better ending than they did last season. They won 11 games and went to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 but faded down the stretch and were blown out of the first round of the playoffs.

They need to bounce back from the end of their last season.

To do that, they will need some players to bounce back from seasons they probably wish they could have back.

Below are some Cardinals players who will have the chance to bounce back and be better in 2022.

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Justin Pugh included in guard tier rankings, but not Will Hernandez

PFF ranked offensive guards into tiers. Justin Pugh is in one tier but Will Hernandez was not mentioned at all.

The Arizona Cardinals brought back Justin Pugh another year to man the starting left guard job. They signed Will Hernandez, presumably to be the starting right guard.

However, in PFF’s rankings and tiers for offensive guards, only one is mentioned.

Hernandez did not make the list at all, despite having been a starter in the league since he was drafted by the New York Giants in 2018. He did not even make the lowest tier of “if an upgrade came along.”

Pugh was listed among the guards who are better pass blockers than run blockers. That is a fair assessment of Pugh.

Pugh, signed to a five-year, $45 million deal in 2018, has been steady and reliable since he took over the left guard job. He played an uneven 2018 season at right guard and dealt with injuries. He has been the most consistent lineman in the lineup since then.

Is he a better pass protector than run blocker? Yes, but there isn’t anything wrong with that. And playing between D.J. Humphries and Rodney Hudson, he is a solid option for the Cardinals in 2022.

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Will Hernandez’ salary, contract details, salary cap implications

Hernandez’ one-year deal is worth a little less than $1.19 million.

New Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Will Hernandez said he was not seeking a lucrative or multi-year deal in free agency after his time with the New York Giants did not end ideally. He is betting on himself and the coaching of offensive line coach Sean Kugler, who was his college head coach, to show he is worth a long-term investment.

He signed a one-year deal to join the Cardinals and is the favorite to be their starting right guard.

The details of his contract are out via Over the Cap and he is not making very much. He will make a little more than the league minimum.

Will Hernandez contract details

Hernandez’ deal is one year for a little more than the league minimum. The total value is a little less than $1.19 million.

His salary is the league minimum at $1.035 million. He receives a signing bonus of $152,500. $895,000 of his salary is fully guaranteed.

There are no roster bonuses or per-game bonuses.

Salary cap implications

His contract qualifies for the veteran salary benefit because of how it is structured.

While the actual cash value of his contract is almost $1.19 million, his cap hit in 2022 will be only a little less than $1.05 million. The Cardinals get $140,000 in cap savings with the benefit.

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