Cardinals OL Josh Jones Ready for First Preseason Matchup

If you're an Arizona Cardinals fan, you've heard a lot about the move of offensive lineman Josh Jones from right tackle to right guard. You've also heard a lot about Arizona's open competition for that position, which includes players such as Justin Murray and Brian Winters. 

Jones, who spoke to reporters on Tuesday, says he simply wants to play football.

"Anything it takes to get on the field," said Jones. "I'm a player, I believe in my ability, so anything they wanted me to do no matter right guard, right tackle, wherever they wanted to put me, I was open to it."

Tackle D.J. Humphries said last week that making the move inside was similar to writing with your non-dominant hand. Jones spoke about the differences between guard and tackle without the use of similes. 

"Well, those guys inside are a little bit bigger. They're a little bit heavier. So everything happens 'right now' at guard," said Jones. "The tackles, the three-techs are coming at you 'right now,' so you don't really have the time to take a set like at tackle. But it's just getting your hands on them quick. I got good feet. I move my feet well in there, and I move well in space. So it's been a good change for me."

The likes of Winters and Murray have now missed over a week of practice, leaving ample opportunity for Jones to get comfortable with the starters. Jones believes it's an advantage for him personally, but doesn't believe he has a leg up on the other guards. 

"I take every rep no matter if it's right tackle or right guard, whatever they put me (in), I take that rep as a chance to get better," said Jones. 

"I feel like it's not an advantage (for me) because those guys (Murray, Winters) have been playing for a long time. This is only my second year in the league; I didn't play a lot last year. It's my opportunity to step up when my team needs me; guys are getting reps right now. So I just step up whenever they need me."

Jones said he's been practicing exclusively at guard in recent weeks despite playing at tackle early in camp when Kelvin Beachum was on reserve/COVID-19.

While Jones acknowledged the differences between the guard and tackle positions, he believes having experience at both can help make him an overall better lineman.

"I mean, ball is still ball," said Jones. 

"It's just one step inside, you're just dealing with different cats. As a tackle you still work with the guard all the time. So just seeing it from both angles actually helped me understand the game more. 

"Learning from the guard position helped me understand the playbook a lot better. When you understand the playbook a lot better, you play faster. So even if I went back out the tackle, I still feel like I'll be able to do my job."

Jones says veterans like Murray and Winters have been helping him fully make the transition to guard, despite all three vying for one job. 

Jones' first preseason game will take place Friday when the Dallas Cowboys come to town. Jones says this game will be a bit personal for him in a couple different aspects. 

"Going in there knowing I'm being there each and every play. I don't know how long  I will play, but I'll being there for a long time. And I'm excited. You know, I haven't played a whole drive, a whole series in a long time since I was at Houston. So I'm excited," said Jones. 

"I'm looking forward to it and it's against the Cowboys. My dad's a Cowboys fan, my mom's a Cowboys fan. So hopefully, we will send them off with an L just to make my parents mad, but they're Cardinals fans. They love me too. So it's gonna be a good time."

Jones said his parents would be watching from home, like many Cardinals fans will be on Friday. The game, scheduled for 7 p.m. Arizona time, will be broadcast on NFL Network and Channel 12 locally.