The Arizona Cardinals have moved quickly to patch a major hole after Paris Johnson Jr.’s season-ending bicep injury, adding another former first-round tackle to the mix.
Arizona is signing Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. off Buffalo’s practice squad, according to reports. Wills, the 10th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, heads to the Cardinals after Johnson was lost for the season and placed on injured reserve today.
Wills is 27 and has spent five seasons in the NFL, beginning his career with the Cleveland Browns. He didn’t play at all in 2025 while rehabbing a knee injury that was diagnosed as an MCL sprain, though Wills explained earlier this offseason that the issue was more complicated than a simple knee repair.
“I injured a couple of ligaments, but usually when people like when they get fell on or something in their knee, they mess up all their ligaments and people can just go in and repair it and they get healthy," Wills said earlier this offseason after signing with the Chicago Bears before being released ahead of final roster cuts.
"I had minimal damage to my ligaments. It was more of an alignment issue from where I got fell on.
So they had to actually - it wasn't my knee, they had to go into my femur and do what was called an osteotomy to kind of correct my alignment. So my knee is healthy.”
Before landing in Buffalo, Wills also met with the New England Patriots and Detroit Lions this offseason. He signed with the Bears, then later joined the Bills’ practice squad ahead of the 2026 regular season.
Because the Cardinals are signing him directly off another team’s practice squad, Wills will be on Arizona’s 53-man roster for at least three weeks under NFL rules.
The move gives Arizona a proven tackle option with 58 games and 57 starts at left tackle on his résumé. Wills has played in just 17 games in one of his NFL seasons, but when he’s been healthy, he’s shown he can handle the job.
The Cardinals entered Week 5 at 1-3, and their tackle depth now includes seventh-round pick Jayden Williams behind him at left tackle and Josh Fryar on the right side of the line. Wills is widely considered a better pass protector than run blocker, which is exactly the kind of profile Arizona is banking on after losing Johnson.
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