Who locks down the Cardinals’ right guard job?

The Arizona Cardinals’ offensive line was among their weakest links last year.

Inconsistency, injuries and a family emergency greatly impacted a unit that had shown great promise the two seasons prior, especially in the run game.

That was about the opposite feeling in 2025, with Arizona sporting the second-worst rushing attack in the NFL while also watching opposing defenses rack up the fifth-most sacks with 59.

How much do the Cardinals’ new additions, paired with a couple of Cardinals mainstays, flip that script in 2026?

Biggest Cardinals offensive line questions ahead of training camp

Who locks down the Cardinals’ starting right guard job?

Among the biggest position battles for the Cardinals this year revolve around right guard.

Isaiah Adams enters camp as the incumbent, having seen 694 snaps at right guard last year across 17 games (11 starts). It was a big step up for Adams, who saw 444 at the position as a rookie.

Adams has a real shot at regaining the role this camp, especially if he builds off the end of the year where he took steps forward in pass-blocking and was trending toward better consistency in the run game.

That is unless rookie Chase Bisontis wrestles the job away from the veteran.

Coming over as a second-round pick out of Texas A&M, Bisontis has a quiet demeanor off the field but a mauler on it.

He’s got plenty of positional versatility, too, having played right guard and right tackle as a freshman before moving to left guard his final two years with the Aggies. He allowed just two sacks in those two seasons at left guard.

Much like the rest of the 2026 rookie class, Bisontis was slow-rolled throughout organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. He worked mainly with the second- and third-team offenses during the open portion of practices.

But once camp gets underway, he’ll surely find his way into the first-team offense as head coach Mike LaFleur, offensive coordinator Nick Rallis and offensive line coach Justin Frye try to piece together the best starting lineup.

For Bisontis, it’s all about getting acclimated to the NFL speed as quickly as possible after getting his feet wet during OTAs and minicamp.

If he proves that early on and earns the trust of the coaching staff, he could very well take the job and run with it.

Can Josh Fryar push Elijah Wilkinson at right tackle?

While the Cardinals might have found their running back of the future in Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick this past draft, it was at the expense of potentially locking down their right tackle of the future with one of the top prospects.

Instead, Arizona brought back Elijah Wilkinson as the most likely candidate after he served as a left guard (501 snaps) in his first stint with the franchise in 2023.

Unlike his 2023 struggles along the inside, Wilkinson looked much more comfortable at right tackle for the Atlanta Falcons last year.

He’s not a long-term solution — Arizona will likely need to address the position through the draft or free agency next offseason — but gives the franchise a bridge option.

As for his biggest competition, 2025 undrafted free agent Josh Fryar is a name to watch this camp.

Starting the final four games of the season due to a season-ending knee injury to Paris Johnson Jr., Fryar flashed with a couple of his best games in Weeks 15 and 16.

If he can find some more consistency, he could be a dark horse candidate at the position.

Will Paris Johnson Jr. get the bag during training camp?

After getting his fifth-year option picked up this offseason, all signs point to the Cardinals extending Johnson for the long term.

Johnson has quickly asserted himself as Arizona’s cornerstone left tackle after landing with the franchise in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Getting a deal done during camp seems like the next move, similar to what we saw with linebacker Zaven Collins in 2024.

The next question is, for how much?

$40 million a year has been floated by the offensive lineman in the past. Will Arizona make that happen, or will his eight missed games due to knee issues have an impact?

Just reaching $30.2 million a year would reset the market as the highest average, according to OverTheCap. Currently, Washington Commanders LT Laremy Tunsil is tops in the league at $31.1 million, though he’s only on a two-year deal.

$40 million might end up being too much of a jump. But between $32 million and $35 million? That should be a no-brainer for the franchise.

As D.J. Humphries said during his Cardinals tenure, “left tackles don’t grow on trees.”

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