What Will Hernandez injury means to Arizona Cardinals' offense, and who could replace him

Losing right guard Will Hernandez to a season-ending knee injury Sunday in the Cardinals ' 24-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers was no minor setback for Arizona.

Beyond playing every offensive snap this season before the injury, Hernandez is a major presence on and off the field. He's been one of the first — if not the first — teammates to come to quarterback Kyler Murray's aid when the signal caller takes a hard hit and goes down.

If any opposing player tries anything extra, Hernandez has shown he will step in and turn enforcer to protect his teammates. It's an attitude that has endeared Hernandez throughout the locker room and to the coaching staff.

"It’s certainly hard," Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said Tuesday at team headquarters. "Will’s a talented player who’s playing at a high level. Feel terrible for him. You never want to see a guy get hurt, especially a guy that puts so much into it like Will does.'

'But unfortunately, that’s the reality of the situation we’re in. We have a lot of guys who I feel very confident in stepping into that role and continuing to allow our offense to operate at a high level."

Petzing has lost the right side of the offensive line that opened the season, with Jonah Williams out after suffering a knee injury in the season opener. Then came Sunday’s injury to Hernandez.

But Petzing doesn’t foresee a philosophical change to his offense. Kelvin Beachum is the right tackle since Williams’ injury, and Trystan Colon, who can play multiple offensive line spots, took over for Hernandez and played 20 snaps Sunday.

Colon was brought back in free agency after appearing in 14 games with four starts last season. He started all three preseason games for the Cardinals and has appeared in every regular-season game this season. He has also played left guard, and the Cardinals have run the ball effectively with him in the game.

Petzing was asked if not having Hernandez affected anything on the team’s touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter and after that. The play on which Hernandez was injured resulted in a 14-yard run for James Conner, and on the next play, Murray threw a touchdown pass to Elijah Higgins with Colon in the game.

“It really didn’t, and I think that speaks to him being ready for his opportunity," Petzing said. "We saw that last year, and look, that was a critical situation. He wasn’t expected to be in the game and went out there and just executed the plays to the best of his ability and allowed us to operate the offense at a high level. So I was really pleased with that.”

Jon Gaines II and rookie Isaiah Adams are also candidates for more playing time. Tuesday, tackle Charlie Heck was signed to the active roster to take Hernandez's place.

Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis was asked if teams tend to adjust their defensive scheme to attack the replacement for an injured regular on an offensive line.

“There’s ways that an offensive line can," he said, "if they feel like there’s a matchup issue, try to protect that spot. Then there’s ways that you have to be able to combat that on defense.

“That’s something we look to do every week. Who's the quarterback we’re going against, how we have to rush him and what matchups are good for our guys. ... It’s about players. Player versus player, what’s the best matchup that you can create to win the game.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What Will Hernandez injury means to Arizona Cardinals' offense, and who could replace him