GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Cardinals re-signed right guard Will Hernandez to a one-year deal on Thursday, reuniting with the veteran who spent the past three seasons in Arizona.
Hernandez tore an ACL in Week 5 last season, leading to the Cardinals opting not to re-sign the former second-round pick before free agency hit. Multiple teams were interested in Hernandez, but he chose to remain in a familiar situation.
The 29-year-old will begin his third contract with the Cardinals on the PUP list as he continues to recover from his knee injury.
"He's a good player but coming off a major injury, so we'll get him in and get him caught up, get him healthy and ready to go," coach Jonathan Gannon said Thursday.
Gannon didn't have a timeline for Hernandez's return to the field despite him having already been medically cleared. Whenever Hernandez does return, he'll be fighting to regain his starting right guard spot, which has since gone to second-year lineman Isaiah Adams.
Gannon said the plan is to keep Adams as the starter at right guard and evaluate Hernandez whenever he returns. Hernandez started all 35 games he played for the Cardinals since joining them in 2022. He started all 17 games in 2023 and 13 in 2022.
Bringing Hernandez back gives the Cardinals more depth on the interior of the offensive line and another experienced presence in the locker room who Gannon compared to running back James Conner - someone who leads by example.
"He plays the right way," Gannon said of Hernandez. "He's always got a good attitude. He's a good player."
Gannon said the Cardinals had a call with Herandez, which Gannon described as "really good." Then Arizona brought Hernandez in, and he sat down with Gannon, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and offensive line coach Justin Frye, who all described their plan for Hernandez, should he return. And then Gannon talked with the offensive line about Hernandez's possible return.
Gannon said the process is the same whenever the Cardinals bring in a new player, although Hernandez was "a little bit of a unicorn" because he had already played for the Cardinals.
"When we got on the phone with Will," Gannon said, "I felt like he wanted to be here."