The Cardinals have agreed to sign Kelvin Beachum, according to John Gambodoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (on Twitter). The former Jets blocker will ink a one-year deal and compete for a first-string job opposite of D.J. Humphries.
There was no room for Beachum in New Jersey after the Jets revamped their offensive line. Before the remodeling, Beachum started in 45 of his 48 games for the Jets across four seasons. For his career, Beachum has 99 starts under his belt for the Steelers, Jaguars, and Jets, with mixed results.
Beachum has struggled with penalties over the years. In 2018, he tied for the Jets’ team lead with seven accepted penalties and nine flags in total.
Some of his best work came with the Steelers early on in his career, though a 2015 knee injury sidetracked him. In 2014, he performed as an elite left tackle, ranking No. 5 on Pro Football Focus’ list. When he returned in 2016, he graded as just the league’s No. 63 ranked tackle out of 78 qualified players.
The Cardinals likely won’t be getting the 2014 iteration of Beachum, but he should provide solid backup support, at the very least. At maximum, he could be the club’s new starting right tackle.
Yeah, that knee injury killed Beachum’s effectiveness, unfortunately. It seems like not that long ago when he was a legitimate elite left tackle, as the Steelers began their run of having a great offensive line with him and Pouncey, Foster, and DeCastro. He was pretty good back then. Unfortunately that knee injury was significant for him.