Will Hernandez has reportedly found his second home in the NFL. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the guard is signing with the Cardinals (Twitter link). A team announcement has confirmed that it is a one-year contract.
Hernandez, 26, was a second-round pick of the Giants in 2018. He started right away, and remained the team’s top left guard throughout the majority of his time there. Durability generally wasn’t a concern, as he only missed three games, all of which were in 2020.
Hernandez’s performances didn’t live up to his draft stock, however. His 67.9 PFF grade during his rookie season was the highest of his career. Of his 15 total sacks allowed, seven came this season. 2021 also saw him commit six penalties, again the worst mark in a single season during his NFL tenure.
The Giants have made a number of changes to their offensive line this offseason, after the unit continued its recent struggles in 2021. They signed former Colt Mark Glowinski and brought in Jon Feliciano following his release from the Bills. Projected to be starters along the interior of the line, that left Hernandez in need of a new team.
Last week, the Cardinals hosted Hernandez on a free agent visit. Between that, and the reported loss of starting guard Max Garcia to the Giants, this move doesn’t come as a surprise. Hernandez will now look to rebuild his value while joining not only his former positional coach in Sean Kugler, but one of the NFC’s top teams in general.
Would this be considered a de facto trade?
Kyler better run fast…..this guys an open door where ever he plays on the line.
Good luck with Hernandez. Watched ever snap he played for the Giants in his tenure. He went downhill fast. Is over aggressive and unbalanced in this footwork, meaning he lunges forward and get caught off balance and then beaten by the opponent. Also, is unable to see and react to stunts and players not lining up in front of him. Was constantly getting beaten inside and because he didn’t pick up stunts many of the sacks were not credited to him but to the RT or center. He has a nasty streak and hopefully puts everything together with this fresh start. Get used to saying ‘Run Kyler, Run!’
Man Getty destroyed this team. Did any picks work out? His worst move turned out to be his best in Leonard Williams. We still gave up too much.
Getting rid of OBJ was a good move, I know he’s immensely talented, but he’s a head case, even with his success in LA. Trading down in last year’s draft was an excellent move, although it wasn’t actually by choice. Still it’s a shame to say that Gettleman was a failure. The Giants have a hell of a lot of work to do to become even mediocre.
Not only did Gettleman destroy the team with crappy draft choices he put the team in cap hell with contracts that made no sense. I.e. the Kyle Rudolph contract. Guy comes in needing surgery and he keeps the contract because he doesn’t reneg on his word. Lol. Or his such bad cap management that the last 3 games of the season the Giants could only field 47 players on game day because they were over the cap!