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Kliff Kingsbury still being coy with right tackle position, but Kelvin Beachum seems like the man

NFL: Oakland Raiders at New York Jets Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Cardinals came into the 2020 offseason with basically four positions on the offensive line ready.

They re-signed left tackle D.J. Humphries, have a couple of seasons left on Justin Pugh’s deal as the left guard, were giving the keys over to center Mason Cole, and have veteran right guard J.R. Sweezy for 2020.

Right tackle was always the toss up spot, but the team brought Marcus Gilbert back, tendered Justin Murray and then drafted Josh Jones, so they had a plethora of options.

Fast forward to Covid-19 offseason and the Cardinals signed veteran offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum, which always seemed a bit out of sorts. Then the other shoe fell and Gilbert has opted out of playing this season and everything started to make a bit of sense.

Now, with only 17 days until the first game Kliff Kingsbury still is waiting to let you know who will play right tackle in 2020: “We’re getting close,” he told reporters on Wednesday after practice. “We want to wrap up this week. Once we get into mock game week, we should solidify where we’re at.”

The reality is unless Beachum was awful, like Marcus Gilbert before he opted out, Beachum was the guy they wanted to win the position. They love Justin Murray, but they like him as the main backup at the tackle spots. They are excited about Josh Jones’ future, but never expected him to be the guy in 2020.

We still don’t know for sure, but it seems like Kelvin Beachum will get the first crack at right tackle in 2020. We should find out soon enough.