Arizona
NFL OL Rankings: Where Do Arizona Cardinals Land?
With very, very few exceptions (looking at you, Cincinnati Bengals…) it’s next to impossible to have offensive success without good offensive line play. The last Super Bowl perfectly encapsulate that after the Philadelphia Eagles dominated upfront with their starting five, while the Kansas City Chiefs crumbled with theirs.
The Arizona Cardinals enter 2025 with the same five from last season. That group played much better than expectations originally placed on them and they certainly deserve props for that.
But are they good enough to go further this year than last? And where do they rank amongst the rest of the league?
I am tossing out my personal ranking of the best offensive lines in football with the Cardinals placing higher than you may think. We will start at the top with the team that is unquestionably number one.
Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson
This is a group is undoubtably the best in the NFL. I don’t have much to say other than that. Each of these players, except for Steen, has an argument to be their best at the position in the league.
Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Conner McGovern. O’Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown
The Bills have quietly had one of the leagues best offensive lines for several years now. They’re running back this room, which will continue to allow Josh Allen to play at an MVP level.
Garett Bolles, Ben Powers, Luke Wattenberg, Quinn Meinerz, Mike McGlinchey
The Broncos offensive line gets it done without any superstars, but everyone does their job exceptionally well and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
Taylor Decker, Christian Mahogany, Tate Ratledge, Graham Glasgow, Penei Sewell
The lions must replace Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler, but the tackle duo of Decker and Sewell is perhaps the best in the league. I also like their interior to step up and fill those shoes.
Tristan Wirfs, Ben Bredeson, Graham Barton, Cody Mauch, Luke Goedeke
The Buccaneers have had good offensive line play for several years even while replacing studs. Wirfs is as good as it gets at left tackle, but their interior trio is very slept on.
Jake Matthews, Matthew Bergeron, Ryan Neuzil, Chris Lindstrom, Kaleb McGary
The Falcons have plenty of name brands value for this unit, but they live up to their billing. The right side of the line with Lindstrom and McGary is elite, proved to be worth their investments in round one of the same draft.
Ronnie Stanley, Andrew Vorhees, Tyler Linderbaum, Daniel Faalele, Roger Rosengarten
A healthy Stanley is still an above average blind sign protector, even in the late stages of his career, while the youthful Linderbaum and Rosengarten are proving to be future keystones. The guard play is shaky, but could even itself out.
Christian Darrisaw, Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, Brian O’Neil
Darrisaw is fantastic, but health has not been his friend. On the opposite side, O’Neill is terrific and undervalued. The interior is brand new, but they are safe options that could be really good.
Rashawn Slater, Bradley Bozeman, Zion Johnson, Mekhi Becton, Joe Alt Jr.
The interior line is a mess, but maybe swapping Bozeman and Johnson will yield better results. The tackle duo of Slater and Alt is beyond elite, which makes this group better from those two alone.
Rasheed Walker, Aaron Banks, Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom
I’m not sure how many offensive lineman the average fan could name for the Packers. The group is well above average with almost no household maintenance. Jenkins has made the Pro Bowl, but he’s still not nearly as well known as other centers.
Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker, Terence Steele
The Cowboys continue undergoing changes on what was once the leads best front five without question. Guyton will need to play better than his rookie debut, but Smith is amongst the best guards in the league. Average play from the other three, with hopes that the rookie Booker can develop quickly, you’ll make this offensive line tremendous.
Braxton Jones, Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson, Darnell Wright
This offensive line is unrecognizable from what was the leagues worst a year ago. The Bears were aggressive in trading and signing big-time players that, in theory, should turn the group around. But on paper the group looks great.
Paris Johnson Jr, Evan Brown, Hjalte Frojoldt, Isaiah Adams, Jonah Williams
The Cardinals are yielding, an average offensive line at worse this year, with Johnson looking to secure his first Pro Bowl. The rest of the line is mostly unchanged, which isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not likely to suddenly become better.
Trent Williams, Ben Barch, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, Colton McKivitz
Williams really does carry this group, but the rest of the guys are no better and no worse than average. Elite play from Williams and average play from everyone else should give the Niners enough consistency to bounce back from what was a horrific offensive season of the year ago.
Bernhard Raimann, Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini, Matt Goncalves, Braden Smith
The Colts’ offensive line has some very underrated starters, including Raimann at left tackle. Nelson is the real star of the show here, but Smith can hold his own. The word is out on Gonclaves and Bortorlini.
With the league that is loaded with elite ass rushers inside and out, having great lineman can determine your success.
Arizona
Arizona softball starts Big 12 play with run-rule win over BYU
Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe did not want the 2026 Big 12 softball season to start the way the 2025 one did. Last year, the Wildcats were upset by UCF in the opening series of conference play. There was no such letdown this year as No. 13 Arizona defeated the BYU Cougars 13-1 in five innings at Hillenbrand Stadium.
“They really took it upon themselves to make a statement and just wanting to set a tone for conference,” Lowe said.
It was Arizona’s sixth straight run-rule victory. The players felt that it should be the expectation.
“I think that’s what we’re capable of every single game, and we should keep working towards that goal,” said junior centerfielder Regan Shockey. “And our next focus is just the next game. Do the same exact thing.”
There was an early suggestion that there might be a repeat of last year. A defensive lapse in right field allowed BYU leadoff Lily Owens to reach third base. A one-out double by Hailey Shuler drove her in to give the Cougars an early lead.
After the team’s postgame huddle, right fielder Grace Jenkins spent a considerable amount of time talking to Lowe one-on-one. The head coach could be seen pointing towards right field as if she was explaining fielding and placement.
“We were talking softball, man,” Lowe said. “So, debrief on the day and where she’s at. And she’s a catcher playing the outfield, and she’s doing awesome at it. She is a true athlete and has the high expectations for herself, so I think sometimes she needs to give herself a little grace that she’s kicking butt at it, and she’s great out there. She just wants to be the best.”
Arizona starter Jalen Adams kept the first-inning damage to a minimum. She only needed four more pitches to get the final two outs of the inning.
“Proud of the response after [BYU] scoring a run in the first inning,” Lowe said.
Any confidence the run might have inspired in the Cougars was quickly squashed by the Wildcats’ response with the bats. Arizona sent 15 to the plate and scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first. Eight of those runs came with two outs. Catcher Sydney Stewart drove five in with a 3-run double and a 2-run homer.
After the home run, the lights at Hillenbrand began to flash in what the program’s social media called “party lights.”
“I thought it was pretty cool,” Stewart said. “One time, I think it was like after practice, late practice, they were practicing [the lights]. Like, why don’t we do this? But seeing it today when I was rounding second, like, there’s no way that just happened right now. Just super cool.”
Up Next for Arizona Softball
Who: BYU Cougars (5-15) @ No. 13 Arizona Wildcats (18-5)
When: Friday, Mar. 6 @ 3 p.m. MST; Saturday, Mar. 7 @ 12 p.m. MST
Where: Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
Streaming: ESPN+ (Friday, Saturday)
Stats: Arizona Live Stats (Friday, Saturday)
Lowe was pleased with the way her entire offense passed the bat in the opening frame. While there were two doubles and a home run in the inning, small ball was a big part of the scoring, too. The Wildcats had five singles and four walks in the bottom of the first. They also took advantage of two wild pitches and a stolen base.
“I thought they were perfectly themselves in that first inning,” Lowe said. “As far as not trying to do too much, they stayed true to who they were as hitters, and then just went to work…I think you can see how fast it can happen when it gets contagious that way.”
BYU starter Gianna Mares was responsible for all 11 runs. Shuler moved from designated player to pitcher after Stewart’s home run. She walked Jenkins and allowed her to move up on a wild pitch, but Shuler finally got the final out with a groundout by Emma Kavanagh.
Stewart is known for her big bat and driving in runs. Arizona’s scoring in the second inning came from players with radically different offensive games.
A single, a walk, and a fielder’s choice put runners on the corners with one out for the Wildcats. That brought up Shockey. The centerfielder already had two RBI from the first inning. She picked up her third of the game in the second frame. It almost doubled her season total to 7.
“I didn’t want to change my plan,” Shockey said. “I bounced the ball, and my goal is just to move them over or get on for the next person. I wasn’t thinking of scoring the two runs [in the first inning] because I know who’s behind me, and that’s Sereniti [Trice], and that’s Stew, and that’s Tayler [Biehl]. So my goal was just to bounce the ball and get on. It just happened to score two, but I try to keep it as simple as possible.”
Shockey went 2 for 4 on the day. She scored 2 runs in addition to driving in 3 more. It improved her season average to .443.
Trice was a perfect 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Her average is now up to a team-high .542. She also leads the team with 39 hits. Shockey is second with 31. Trice is fourth on the squad with 18 RBI.
Adams pitched 4.0 innings and improved her record to 10-3. Her ERA dropped to 2.91. She gave up just 1 hit. The only BYU run was unearned. Three errors were committed behind her.
Sophomore Jenae Berry pitched the final inning. She did not give up a hit, but she allowed two baserunners on a walk and a hit batter. She also threw a wild pitch.
The Wildcats and the Cougars will take the field again on Friday afternoon before finishing the series on Saturday, Mar. 7.
Arizona
ICE detainee in Arizona dies after not receiving ‘timely medical attention’
A man being held at a US immigration detention facility in Arizona died this week after reporting severe tooth pain and not receiving “timely medical attention”, according to a local official.
Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian asylum seeker, was being held at the Florence correctional center in Arizona when he began to feel a toothache in mid-February, a pain that weeks later led him to the hospital before he died on Monday.
“His reported struggle to receive timely medical attention before being transferred to a hospital raises serious and painful concerns about the quality of care provided to individuals in custody,” Christine Ellis, a Chandler city council member, said in an Instagram post.
According to Ellis, Damas was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Boston in September 2025 and was later transferred to the facility in Florence, Arizona.
The Arizona Daily Star reported that Ellis had called for an investigation into Damas’s death.
“He was complaining for almost two weeks straight, until he collapsed and got septic from the infection,” Ellis told the local news outlet. Ellis said Damas was transferred to a Scottsdale hospital sometime last week.
Ellis’s office, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.
Damas’s death has not yet been reported by ICE, according to the agency’s notifications of detainee deaths. At least nine people have died under custody in 2026, according to ICE: Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, 42; Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55; Luis Beltrán Yáñez–Cruz, 68; Parady La, 46; Heber Sanchaz Domínguez, 34; Víctor Manuel Díaz, 36; Lorth Sim, 59; Jairo Garcia-Hernandez, 27; and Alberto Gutiérrez-Reyes, 48.
At least 32 people died in ICE custody last year, marking the deadliest year for detainees of the federal immigration agency in more than two decades.
The stark number of deaths has been just one component of a tumultuous tenure for Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary. On Thursday, Donald Trump announced he would be ousting Noem and replacing her with Markwayne Mullin, a Republican Oklahoma senator, starting on 31 March.
Under her helm, the DHS has faced bipartisan backlash after the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis at the hands of federal immigration agents earlier this year. Noem accused both US citizens of being involved in “domestic terrorism”.
Arizona
Haitian man detained at Arizona ICE facility dies in US custody, brother says
FLORENCE, AZ (AP) — A Haitian man confined at an Arizona immigration detention center for months died at a hospital Monday after a tooth infection was left untreated, the man’s brother said Wednesday.
Emmanuel Damas, 56, told medical personnel at the Florence Correctional Center that he had a toothache in mid-February, but he was not sent to a dentist, said Damas’ brother, Presly Nelson.
Nelson believes the staff at the facility did not take his brother’s complaints seriously, even though it was a treatable condition. Nelson said he would expect such a death in countries with less access to health care, but not in the United States.
“As a country — I’m an American now — I think we can do better than that,” Nelson said.
Damas is among at least nine people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this year.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. ICE had said it hoped to issue a news release Wednesday.
Earlier Wednesday, ICE officials announced the death of Mexican national Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, who had been in a California ICE detention center and died in the hospital Feb. 27 after reporting chest pain and shortness of breath.
Chandler City Council member Christine Ellis, a Haitian American who is a registered nurse, said she was contacted by Damas’ family after his death.
“As a medical person, I am absolutely appalled that there were medical-licensed people that were working there and allowed those things to happen,” Ellis said. “It does not make sense to me.”
A report from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office listed Damas’ cause of death as “pending” as of Wednesday.
Damas was taken into ICE custody in September and was soon transferred to the medium-security Florence Correctional Center, where he was held for several months, including after his asylum application was denied, Ellis said.
CoreCivic, a for-profit corrections company that runs the Florence facility, did not respond to emails seeking comment.
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Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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