When Jonah Williams joined the Arizona Cardinals in NFL free agency for a two-year, $30 million contract on March 13, the former Alabama All-American didn’t know which offensive-tackle spot he would fill for his new team.

On Monday, Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon settled that – at least for now.

“Jonah is going to go right, Paris (Johnson) is going to go left, and then we’ll see how that looks,” Gannon said as Arizona opened Phase 3 of its offseason program. “… I think it’s going to be good. Paris, obviously, playing both, Jonah playing both, we’ll start there and see how it goes. Through the first three weeks on the grass, that’s what they’ve been doing. That’s what they’re both comfortable with right now, so we’ll see how it looks.

“But I do have the veto power to switch them back.”

The 11th selection of the 2019 NFL Draft, Williams started at left tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals in the first 47 games of his career. But after the Bengals signed four-time Pro Bowler Orlando Brown Jr. in free agency last offseason, they put Brown at left tackle and shifted Williams to right tackle.

The sixth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Johnson started every game of his rookie season at right tackle for the Cardinals.

Arizona’s left tackle was D.J. Humphries, but on the same day they signed Williams, the Cardinals released Humphries after eight seasons. Humphries had suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament during Arizona’s next-to-last game of the season on Dec. 31 and was due $22.9 million in 2024. His release reduced the Cardinals’ salary-cap obligations by $15.9 million for this season.

Johnson played left tackle as a senior at Ohio State after playing right guard as a junior. Williams worked as Alabama’s right tackle as a freshman in 2016, then played left tackle in 2017 and 2018 for the Crimson Tide.

Williams and Johnson played every offensive snap at right tackle for their teams in 2024.

Arizona right guard Will Hernandez said it would be “easy” to develop the rapport with Williams that he had with Johnson.

“These guys aren’t bringing in just regular Joes,” Hernandez said. “Jonah’s a dog, and I really like him. Same thing as with Paris. We’re clicking quick. He’s also a vet, and he knows what it is and how it’s supposed to look and what you’re supposed to do. I really like it. I like his mindset. And I think we’re going to do big things on the right side again.”

Commonly called OTAs (for Organized Team Activities), Phase 3 practices allow NFL teams to expand their offseason on-the-field work to include 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills matching the offense and defense. Contact is still not allowed, but group drills can proceed at more than a walkthrough pace now.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.