Hooray for El Toro and the Cardinals!

by Walter Mitchell



Per Arizona Sports radio host John Gambadoro, the Arizona Cardinals are expected to re-sign UFA guard Will Hernandez sometime soon. When the deal is official, this will be Will's 8th NFL season and his 4th with the Cardinals. 

The 6-2, 332 pound guard from UTEP, drafted in the 2nd round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, had been a stalwart for the past three years at right guard for the Cardinals, until he tore an ACL and was lost for the season after just 5 games last season. 

The consistent strength of Will Hernandez's play in Arizona, per PFF:

* 2022 --- 65.4

* 2023 --- 66.2

* 2024 --- 69.3

Special Note: In 2,232 snaps as the Cardinals' right guard, Will Hernandez has committed only 10 penalties. This dude is not only an offensive bulldozer, but he is also some kind of disciplined.

It was agonizing last season to see Will Hernandez suffer his knee injury. Not only was Hernandez playing at a Pro Bowl level, the very best he's played in the NFL, he was heading toward landing a lucrative contract in free agency --- a contract likely similar to the 3-year $48M ($32M guaranteed) deal the Rams paid Kevin Dotson. 

Obviously, because of the knee injury, Will Hernandez is going to have to play this season on a deal chock-full of incentives so that he can reset his market. Or, perhaps, Monti Ossenfort can offer Will a 2-year deal with an attractive signing bonus.  

The question is --- with 2024 3rd round pick Isaiah Adams being one of the team's top standouts in training camp thus far --- what could that mean for Will in terms of playing time? 

It's likely best to keep "El Toro" in the bullpen for the time being, until he gets back into full playing shape. In the interim the Cardinals can see how well Evan Brown and Isaiah Adams are playing. 

What El Toro's signing does is it gives the Cardinals' offensive line quality-type starters across the board:

* LT Paris Johnson Jr., Kelvin Beachum

* LG Evan Brown, Isaiah Adams

* C Hjalte Froholdt, Evan Brown

* RG Isaiah Adams, Will Hernandez

* RT Jonah Williams, Kelvin Beachum

Injury updates on the OL:

 --- Jon Gaines II --- thumb in a cast --- tough to block consistently well with a thumb injury --- he's been having one of the best camps of the group, as blogged and highlighted previously. Cards need him to recover quickly. 

--- Nick Leverett --- injured in practice yesterday --- he's been looking good in one-on-ones


More thoughts on Will Hernandez:

The Cardinals hit the UFA guard jackpot twice, in my opinion, courtesy of the New York Giants: 2013 1st round pick Justin Pugh from Syracuse and 2018 2nd round pick Will Hernandez from University of Texas El Paso. Justin Pugh was a huge factor in getting Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray on track posting these overall PFF grades:

* 2019 --- 66.8
* 2020 --- 64.8
* 2021 --- 64.5
Justin Pugh's pass blocking grades in those three seasons were: 82.2, 74.4, 73.4 respectively. This just in --- that's dang good pass pro.

Man, I don't know about you, but it still irks me something nasty to this day that back in 2022 the 49ers' raucous horde of fans booed Will Hernandez as he trotted out the Mexican flag during the Monday Night Football pre-game ceremonies at Mexico City. It was a classless gesture on their part, and therefore, nothing would feel sweeter if the Cardinals, with Will Hernandez and his fellow linemen blowing up the Niners' front seven. manage to keep the Cardinals' current two-game winning streak over SFO alive.


 Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

If and when the Cardinals win the NFC West, I, for one, would be ecstatic to see Will Hernandez to carry the banner all the way around State Farm amidst the grandest of Red Sea cheers on a well-deserved victory lap.

"Felicitaciones por seguir siendo un Cardenal de Arizona, El Toro!







Comments

  1. Since 61August 7, 2025 at 10:17 AM

    Great signing. Gives a long time fan who's witnessed too many homegrown/ developed players discarded and OLs that sabotaged a promising season, to further embrace a new FO that understands the importance of continuity, dedicated players and talented depth on the OL.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RedrunAugust 7, 2025 at 10:27 AM

    I have been hoping/routing for this all off-season. Having Hernandez back means they have depth at an oft-injured position, and release pressure off Adams in event he should struggle. This signing will pay dividends later in season.

    ReplyDelete
  3. CardsFan4Life85August 7, 2025 at 12:59 PM

    Great signing. I was hoping we would bring him back.

    On a different note, it looks like we'll be playing our starters in preseason. I saw an article about that and immediately thought of everywhere here (and at the other forum)

    ReplyDelete
  4. JethroBodineAugust 8, 2025 at 1:22 PM

    I think MO and JG are all in this season. They know Kyler is in his prime so it's time to go.

    ReplyDelete

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