Cardinals OL Will Hernandez ejected vs. Panthers for pushing official

Arizona Cardinals right guard Will Hernandez was ejected from Sunday’s 26-16 win over the Carolina Panthers for hitting an official early in the fourth quarter.

Carolina linebacker Frankie Luvu threw Cardinals running back James Conner down hard after the whistle on a play in the red zone, prompting a personal foul call.

Cardinals offensive linemen Kelvin Beachum and Hernandez went to confront Luvu, but the latter pushed into the back of an official to get there. The ensuing scuffle did not lead to any more penalties, but the ejection of Hernandez left an already depleted offensive line group thinner.

Video of #Cardinals Will Hernandez pushing an official and getting ejected. pic.twitter.com/EAV9sAZvEm

— NFL Unlimited (@NFLUnlimited) October 2, 2022

“You can’t swing, obviously,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters postgame.

“I think you can get in front of a guy and protect your guy, but once you start doing that, you cross the line and we all know that. That’s laid out plainly that is something you can not do in this league. We have to be smarter in those situations.

Left guard Justin Pugh exited in the second quarter with an elbow injury and is questionable to return, while center Rodney Hudson went into the locker room but came back in the game.

Max Garcia took over at left guard to right, while Sean Harlow entered the game at left guard.

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