The Arizona Cardinals announced an expected move on Thursday, as rookies reported to training camp. They placed outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck on the physically unable to perform list (PUP).
Gardeck tore his ACL in December and is still recovering from his surgery. It is unknown whether he will be ready to start the season.
Placing him on PUP keeps him from practicing during training camp but does not open a roster spot. If he remains on the preseason PUP up until final cuts after the preseason, he can be placed on PUP for the regular season, which means he will miss at least six games but will be able to be activated to play, and it keeps him from taking a roster spot while he completes his recovery.
Gardeck is coming off a career season. Already a special teams ace, he got playing time on defense for the first time in his career and logged seven sacks in only 93 defensive snaps.
He is playing on a second-round restricted free agent tender in 2021.
Gardeck is ahead of schedule in his recovery and head coach Kliff Kingsbury will not rule out his being ready for Week 1, but the most likely scenario is him coming off PUP around midseason.
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