Arizona Cardinals hope sweeping changes finally help offensive line

The Arizona Cardinals have tried and failed for six seasons to fix the offensive line.

It’s been the most talked about position group on the roster since Steve Keim took over and his continual pursuit of just competency continued into the 2019 offseason.

With his third head coach hire in Kliff Kingsbury, maybe the formula of the offense will give the line some help.

It wasn’t just Kingsbury and offensive line coach Sean Kugler that Keim brought in, he traded for veteran Marcus Gilbert and signed veteran J.R. Sweezy to fill out the Cardinals probable starting five along the offensive line.

Gilbert has been a mainstay when healthy. He was one of the anchors of a talented Pittsburgh offensive line and someone that has shown to be one of the best pass protectors in the NFL.

Yet, the signing of Sweezy is the one that is the hardest to wrap your head around.

A veteran of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line, Sweezy is a guard whose best work is done in the run game. Yet, even there he struggles.

No, Sweezy is a more old school brawler than he is pass blocker.

He played decent in 2018, but the Seahawks were not entirely upset about losing Sweezy and replacing him with former Arizona Cardinal guard Mike Iupati.

What Sweezy brings is an attitude.

He’s the same type of nasty that Iupati was, without the elite skill level Iupati used to possess.

Sweezy offers a veteran presence and an attitude that Keim and Kugler hope rubs off on the rest of group.

They want this offensive line to make a statement.

This time, for the right reasons.