Justin

Pugh

Pugh famously came #straightoffthecouch and into the Giants’ starting lineup after being signed to the practice squad earlier this month. Pugh even moved to left tackle against the Bills after the Giants suffered more offensive line injuries. Now that Pugh is on the active roster, he should be a fixture in the starting lineup for a depleted Giants team. TE Lawrence Cager was waived in a corresponding move.

Pugh was the team’s 2013 first-round pick and will now return with the Giants in desperate need of offensive line help. Left tackle Andrew Thomas is still working his way back from injury and rookie center John Michael Schmitz suffered a shoulder injury on Monday night. While Pugh will begin on the practice squad, it’s not a stretch to see him on the active roster and seeing snaps in a couple of weeks.

Pugh tore his ACL in the loss to the Seahawks and will not return this season. Newly-activated guard Cody Ford will probably have a chance to take the left guard job in Arizona for the rest of the season.

The team will conduct additional tests to confirm Pugh’s injury, but there’s a chance the Cardinals will be without Pugh and wide receiver Marquise Brown (foot) for the remainder of the season. Left guard Max Garcia took over for Pugh in Sunday’s game and could be first in line to replace him moving forward.

Pugh limped off the field in the first quarter. He immediately left for the locker room before being listed as questionable. It would be surprising to see him return to this game.

Pugh was announced as questionable upon going down in the first half but never returned. Max Garcia finished at the game at left guard. Stay tuned.

Previously due $8.025 million, Pugh will bring home $5.5 million guaranteed with another $1.5 million available through incentives. It’s a pay cut, but a small one as far as these things go. Pugh has been just above league-average in Arizona. The Cardinals apparently did not want to risk a downgrade with Kyler Murray in a testy offseason mood.

Pugh was the Cardinals’ only “questionable” player, but the real inactive news dropped earlier Monday, when it was announced Chase Edmonds (ankle) would not be activated from injured reserve. That means one more game of Eno Benjamin back up James Conner. Inactive for the Cardinals are QB Trace McSorley, LS Beau Brinkley, OL Josh Miles and DE Zach Kerr.

Arizona’s second round draft selection in 2019, Isabella has failed to make an impact. The additions of Rondale Moore and A.J. Green this offseason further complicate his path to playing time. He won’t be helped if he misses an extended portion of training camp. Arizona also added C Rodney Hudson, LG Justin Pugh and WR Keesean Johnson to the reserve/COVID-19 list

“To clarify I restructured my contract and took a pay cut to stay with the Arizona Cardinals,” Pugh said on social media. “I love Arizona and want to finish my career here. Now let’s go win a ring.” GM Steve Keim had already said Pugh was likely to retain left guard duties, but his $11.1 million cap number was untenable. Pugh was good, but not great, along the interior of the Cardinals’ line in 2020. 2021 will be his age-31 campaign. The Cardinals have an unusual amount of guard depth in the event Pugh’s play further slips.