Cardinals offensive line depth, ability will be tested against Jets

TEMPE, Ariz. – They experienced the most turnover from a year ago. Now five weeks into the season, there comes more change for the Arizona Cardinals offensive line.

It’s not a matter of next man up, but next men up.

John Wetzel and Earl Watford are expected to replace left guard Mike Iupati and right guard Evan Mathis, respectively, when the Cardinals host the New York Jets on Monday Night Football.

Wetzel and Watford filled in when the two starting guards got hurt in San Francisco.

“He played very well,” head coach Bruce Arians said, referring to Wetzel. “Earl did a nice job. So, that’s where we’ll start the week. See how it goes.”

Watford has been down this road before. He started against the Buccaneers in Week 2 after Mathis was unable to go because of a foot issue.

Now it’s an ankle problem for Mathis, who needs surgery and may be lost for the season, according to Arians on Monday. The team placed Mathis on injured reserve over the weekend.

Watford played the entire second half against the 49ers.

Wetzel, meanwhile, entered the game midway through the third quarter. He played 29 snaps at a position he had not lined up at since training camp. It also just happened to be his first NFL game action outside of special teams.

“It was huge, not having practiced it even for a while,” Arians said. “I thought he stepped up as big as anybody has in a couple years.”

Wetzel, a tackle at Boston College, is in his first season with the Cardinals after being signed to the practice squad last December. Since leaving college in 2013, he had spent time on the practice squads of both the Cowboys and Colts.

It’s not clear how much time Iupati might miss.

“Mike Iupati has a sprained ankle,” Arians said. “I don’t know when he will return, but it was very good news that it was a sprained ankle.”

Aside from Watford, rookie Cole Toner, the team’s fifth-round draft pick this year, is the only other guard on the roster.

“He’s more than ready,” Arians said.

The Cardinals did add Ulrick John from the Dolphins’ practice squad, but “he’s a left tackle, and we’ll look at him at right tackle. I’m anxious to see him on the field,” Arians said.

The Mathis injury is big.

Signed as a free agent in the offseason to help solidify the right side of the offensive line, Mathis sat sandwiched between two other new starters, center A.Q. Shipley and tackle D.J. Humphries.

The Cardinals had Humphries in mind when this offseason they targeted Mathis, who was coming off a Super Bowl season with Denver and had played 11 years in the league. The team wanted some veteran experience next to a first-year starter in Humphries.

That’s now gone.

“I think D.J. has grown so much and has learned so much from Evan throughout OTAs this summer that he can handle it on his own now,” Arians said.

Humphries played one of his better games against the 49ers. According to Pro Football Focus, Humphries surrendered only one hit and two hurries on 31 pass-blocking snaps, and he excelled as a run blocker.

Offensive line-play is going to be key this week. The Cardinals are going to want to run the ball, but doing so against the Jets won’t be easy.

Despite their 1-4 record, the Jets have allowed the fourth-fewest rushing yards (342), while only the Packers are stingier against the run in yards per attempt and yards per game.

The Jets have also shown the ability to get after the quarterback. Their 12 sacks are tied for the eighth-most in the league with defensive tackle Leonard Williams leading the way with five.

“Defensive line, this is by far the best defensive line, I think,” Arians said. “The Rams are different in their speed factor with Aaron (Donald) and (Robert) Quinn. But these guys are all big, physical — and a bunch of them. You’ve got Muhammad (Wilkerson) playing linebacker, so that’s a huge front when you have him out there playing outside linebacker.”

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