Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Max Garcia is in his third season with the team, each year on a one-year deal. Since coming back midseason in 2019 from ACL surgery, he has been reserve swing interior lineman.
For his first four NFL seasons, all with the Denver Broncos, he was mostly a starter at guard.
After two years as a guy meant to fill in at multiple positions, he is settling into one specific role.
“He has played both guards and played center, but he’s exclusively playing center now,” offensive line coach and run-game coordinator Sean Kugler said of Garcia on Saturday. “He’s our backup center and really has done an outstanding job all camp.”
Kugler called Garcias “a very unselfish player” for the role he has accepted since coming to Arizona.
This offseason, the Cardinals made two changes at center. Last year, Mason Cole was the center and Lamont Gaillard, drafted in the fifth round in 2019 out of Georgia, was the backup.
They acquired three-time Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson in a trade in the offseason and traded away Cole to the Minnesota Vikings.
More recently, the Cardinals release Gaillard, which was a surprising move considering his youth and seeming promise.
Hudson and Garcia are different in build and play than Cole and Gaillard.
They are bigger and more physical, something the Cardinals appear to have prioritized this offseason.
“He brings a lot of physicality to that position,” Kugler said. “He’s 315. He’s strong, and he doesn’t get pushed back.”
In a perfect world, we won’t see Garcia on offense because Hudson makes every snap, but if Garcia does have to play, he has the trust of his position coach and a similar build and style of play.
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