TEMPE — Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort made it a point to bring in players who provided a boost in the talent department and had knack of staying upright.
But even the best laid plans don’t always work out.
After starting every game across the past two seasons with Chicago, veteran defensive lineman Justin Jones’s streak came to an abrupt end three games into his Cardinals tenue due to a season-ending triceps injury suffered in last week’s 20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions.
With him now on injured reserve, it’s on Arizona’s depth within the D-line room to avoid any drop off with Jones sidelined the rest of the way.
“Definitely a huge blow. He’s a great D-lineman, great teammate, great friend. Been praying for him. Hopefully he’s doing well,” safety Budda Baker said Thursday.
“Of course, I have all the belief in all the other players to pick up that slack and to play Cardinal football at the end of the day. These other guys have an opportunity to play and just going to be exciting to see what these guys can do.”
Unlike the current depth at right tackle behind Kelvin Beachum, Arizona’s defensive line has a few options to consider, highlighted by second-year pro Dante Stills.
It’s been a couple of weeks to say the least for Stills.
After not putting much on the tape across 25 defensive snaps in Week 1’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, Stills was a healthy scratch in Arizona’s big win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Ahead of Sunday’s loss to the Lions, though, the defensive lineman was a limited participant at practice.
That didn’t stop him from making an impact come Sunday, with Stills racking up five tackles, a sack and a quarterback hit. All but one tackle came after Jones left the game with the triceps injury.
Stills stepping up in the wake of injuries isn’t anything new for the young lineman.
As a rookie, Stills was thrown into the mix early on with injuries to L.J. Collier and others along the line in 2023.
After he was a healthy inactive in Week 1, Stills went on to record 47 tackles, five of where were for loss, 3.5 sacks, five QB hits and a fumble recovery across 15 games played (eight starts).
That experience and having gone through a similar situation just a season ago has already come in handy for the lineman.
“It definitely helped me,” Stills said. “I got a big jump on the game I guess you could say with a lot of the experience I had and kinda seeing blocks and play style like that. I feel like last year was big for me.”
As for that shoulder issue? Stills is back to practicing fully after being a limited participant to start the week.
Stills isn’t the only Cardinals defensive lineman that’s in line for increased playing time moving forward, either.
Similar to Jones, veteran defensive lineman L.J. Collier was lost for the season early on last year after signing with the Cardinals that offseason.
Now, Collier has the chance to earn a more prominent role in the rotation and potentially regain the starting role he had entering 2023.
While Stills has been used at a similar rate across the two games he’s appeared in, Collier saw a healthy increase of snaps with Jones out. After seeing no more than 38% of available defensive reps in the two games prior, the six-year veteran saw that number jump to 48% in Week 3.
Getting those added opportunities could go a long way in Collier proving his worth as a 2019 first-round pick.
Since the Seattle Seahawks nabbed him with the 29th overall pick, Collier hasn’t lived up to the price tag behind three sacks, six tackles for loss and two QB hits in 49 games played (18 starts). Injuries have played a factor in his production, appearing in at least 12 games in a single season just once (2020).
Recently signed Naquan Jones could also find himself in the rotations in some capacity if he can get back up to speed after rejoining the team this week following a stint on the Miami Dolphins practice squad.
Waiting in the shadows
Yes, in the immediate aftermath of Jones’ injury, all signs point to Stills and Collier taking on a bigger workload.
But in the potentially not so distant future, Arizona could be getting back a massive reinforcement in rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson.
Robinson was in the mix to start entering the regular season before a calf injury suffered in practice put him on the injured reserve.
Following Sunday’s game, however, Robinson is eligible to come off the IR, that is if he’s healthy enough to do so.
Either way, whenever the versatile Robinson returns to the mix, he’ll provide an immediate upgrade in the trenches.