Paris

Johnson

Cardinals reporters noted that he stayed on the sideline after being ruled out, but the Cardinals don’t exactly have a reason to push Johnson through this injury given they’re already eliminated from playoff contention. Arizona has just one starter left from its season-opening line and faces the Texans in Week 15. Jacoby Brissett was already pummeled by the Rams on Sunday and Week 15 shapes up as more of the same.

Kyler Murray will have his top-tier left tackle protecting his blindside against the Seahawks’ pass rush this evening. The Cardinals declared CB Will Johnson, WR Zay Jones, LB Xavier Thomas, OL Will Hernandez, OL Demontrey Jacobs and TE Travis Vokelek inactive for Week 4 against the Seahawks. The Cardinals’ secondary is in rough shape. They lost CB Starling Thomas V to a torn ACL this summer and placed CB Garrett Williams on injured reserve last week with a knee injury of his own. Johnson has played very well when available. Hopefully, his groin injury heals up in time for Week 5.

Johnson was questionable and missed Week 3 on the questionable line with this knee injury. Arizona’s top left tackle should help give Kyler Murray a little extra time against a fierce Seahawks front on Thursday night.

Johnson did not practice all week after already missing Week 3. He is listed as doubtful to play Thursday against the Seahawks. Meanwhile, fellow CB Darren Hall (ankle) is listed as questionable. Also questionable are LB Akeem Davis-Gaither (elbow) and OL Kelvin Beachum (knee), Evan Brown (heel), Paris Johnson Jr. (knee), and Will Hernandez (knee). Missing Johnson and Brown especially would deplete the left side of the Cardinals’ offensive line.

Both players are done for 2024. They signed Jackson Barton off the practice squad in a corresponding move. Johnson had an extremely successful sophomore season, finishing with a 80.8 PFF grade and should be Arizona’s blindside tackle in 2025. Williams played just 343 snaps while dealing with injuries and will be on the final year of a two-year, $30 million deal he signed with the Cardinals last offseason. It’s possible the Cardinals could cut Williams after an injury-plagued season, but they’d only free up a little over $3 million in cap space if they did so the normal way. Kyler Murray’s line will be in rough shape for Weeks 17 and 18.

Arizona will be without both of its starting tackles this week after being eliminated from postseason contention in Week 16 against the Panthers. It’s bad news for Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense, and it makes the Rams defense an interesting fantasy option off the waiver wire. The Cards headed into Week 17 have what Pro Football Focus grades as the NFL’s fifth best pass-blocking offensive line.

Benson and Johnson were both ruled out before the weekend, meaning DeeJay Dallas will likely serve as the RB2 behind James Conner. There’s no fantasy upside in this backfield outside of Conner, who profiles as a solid RB1 for the week.

Johnson suffered an MCL injury in Week 15 and could be out for more than just this game against the Panthers. Kelvin Beachum should take his spot in the lineup this week. Beachum started at right tackle earlier this season while Jonah Williams was injured and has years of experience at left tackle under his belt.

Playing on the right side will be veteran Jonah Williams, who joined the Cardinals this offseason after four seasons with the Bengals. Williams, who has experience at left tackle, played right tackle for the Bengals in 2023 after the team brought in Orlando Brown to better secure Joe Burrow’s blind side. Moving Johnson to left tackle is a move that was expected to happen at some point after the team selected him with the No. 6 pick in last year’s draft. Johnson started all 17 games at right tackle last season, allowing eight sacks on 42 pressures while earning a PFF pass-blocking grade of 64.2. the former Ohio State Buckeye will have added responsibilities this season, but should be viewed as the best man for the job after Williams struggled from the left side his first three years in the league.

Johnson was one of five Cardinals rookies to put pen to paper on Thursday as the team gets ready for its rookie minicamp. Johnson (6’6/313) has experience at both guard and tackle but enters the league as a tackle. In his two years of starting experience at Ohio State, Johnson only allowed two sacks on 910 pass block snaps. While anchoring the blind side for the second-ranked scoring offense in the country, he earned numerous accolades, including first team All-American honors. Johnson has the prototypical size of a modern OT. While he didn’t do any running tests at the Combine, his 9’02” broad jump (87th%) and 29 bench reps (90th%) were both excellent marks, while his raptor-like 36.125” arms are ideal. With Kyler Murray recovering from a torn ACL, the Cardinals are clearly making protecting him a priority after securing their left tackle of the future.