The Arizona Cardinals have made a clear bet on stability, locking up center Hjalte Froholdt with a two-year, $20 million extension that keeps him in place through the 2028 season.
It’s not the kind of move that turns into a league-wide talking point, but for Arizona, it hits a need that has lingered for years. The Cardinals’ offensive line has spent a long stretch dealing with injuries, inconsistency and endless turnover, and Froholdt has been the rare exception. He has started all 17 games in each of his three seasons with the team, giving the unit a steady presence in the middle.
That reliability is part of why the extension matters. Froholdt is set to remain the starting center in 2026, and the Cardinals are choosing to build around a player they know will be there.
At center, availability and communication matter as much as anything else. The position helps set protections, make adjustments and anchor the run game, so having the same player handling those responsibilities every week carries real value.
Arizona has already seen the ripple effect. James Conner posted his first two 1,000-yard seasons as a Cardinal during Froholdt’s first two years in the desert. That doesn’t happen by accident, and it speaks to the kind of consistency the Cardinals have been chasing up front.
This deal is less about flash and more about function. The Cardinals are paying for certainty, and that may be the most important thing they can buy on an offensive line that has struggled to find it. If the offense does take a step this season, Froholdt’s presence in the middle could be one of the reasons why.
In Other News...
Cardinals O-Line Depth Suddenly Feels Like A Bigger Week 1 Risk
The Cardinals offensive line depth took a significant hit in the preseason when Chase Bisontis went down with a torn MCL and was lost for the season. Even with that setback, Arizona has held off on making any immediate additions up front, leaving the depth chart to be sorted through by the players already on hand.
Isaiah Adams, Matt Pryor, Oli Udoh and Hayden Conner are the names carrying that load for now, which makes the days after final roster cuts worth watching closely. Arizona could still look for a backup option on waivers once other teams trim down, but for the moment, no official move has been made to patch one of the more fragile spots on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Practice Absences Suddenly Raise Concern Before Final Preseason Stretch
The Cardinals only home practice of the week in Tempe came at a time when the margins are getting tighter, with the team headed to Green Bay for a joint session and another preseason game. The workout drew attention less for what happened on the field than for who was not out there, as James Conner, Jeremiyah Love, Isaiah Adams and Isaac Seumalo were among the notable absences while Josh Sweat was back after opening camp on the PUP list.
Some of those missing faces were likely tied to veteran rest or injury management, which is normal this time of year, but the timing still adds a little more weight to the final preseason stretch. Trey Bensons waiver earlier in the week only sharpened the focus on the backfield and the depth chart around it, leaving the Cardinals with a few more questions to sort out before the trip to Wisconsin. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Have Two Roster Spots Fans Need To Watch
The Cardinals had to move quickly after injuries hit Blake Gillikin and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson in their third preseason game, adding punter Jack Browning and safety Josh Minkins to the roster. Both newcomers arrive with a bit of a football paper trail, and both are getting a real opportunity at a time when Arizona is trying to sort out its depth heading into the final stretch of the preseason.
Browning has bounced around the league with stops tied to the Bills, Ravens and Buccaneers after time with the Orlando Storm, while Minkins also comes from the Orlando Storm and first entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Patriots. For a team already dealing with fresh injuries in key spots, these are the kinds of signings that can turn into longer looks if the next few days go right. [Read more 🡒]