The Cardinals brought back Gardeck on a three-year, $12 million deal. Tell us what you think of him coming back and his contract.
One of the moves the Arizona Cardinals made so far this offseason is to re-sign linebacker and special teams ace Dennis Gardeck. He got a three-year deal for $12 million.
It might seem like a lot for a special teams player, but he also has some pass-rushing upside. After all, he did have seven sacks in 2020 in only 94 defensive snaps before tearing his ACL.
He did not have a sack in 2021 but was coming back from the injury.
He is a fan favorite and you won’t find a player who works harder.
What do you think of the signing? Vote in the poll and give your thoughts in the comment section below.
The special teams ace who had seven sacks in 2020 before tearing his ACL gets a multi-year deal to return to the Cardinals.
The Arizona Cardinals have been busy on the first day of NFL free agency. However, all their initial moves have been to re-sign their own free agents.
The latest is a fan favorite. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, linebacker and special teams standout Dennis Gardeck has come to an agreement to return to the Cardinals on a three-year, $12 million contract.
Gardeck has been with the team since 2018 when he made the squad as an undrafted rookie. He has been a special teams standout since entering the league and even added some pass rushing.
In 2020, he had seven sacks in only 94 defensive snaps before tearing his ACL.
He returned in 2021 and did not have any sacks, but with his multi-year deal, the Cardinals anticipate him being more than just a special teamer.
He had 14 tackles and four quarterback hits on defense and led the team with 13 special teams tackles in 2021.
He will return as a rotational pass rusher and special teams ace.
Gardeck was designated to return from IR this week and could possibly be activated for the game against the Rams.
On the NFL transaction report Thursday, a roster move by the Arizona Cardinals appeared, one that was not announced. They released cornerback Luq Barcoo.
Barcoo thus far this season had not been active in three games. The team signed Antonio Hamilton from the practice squad to the active roster.
However, his release actually suggests a different roster move.
Linebacker Dennis Gardeck was designated for return from injured reserve this week. The Cardinals would need to open a roster spot to activate him this week.
Gardeck tore his ACL in December and then suffered a hand injury in practice in Week 1. His potential return could add a little oomph to the pass rush. He had seven sacks last season in only 93 defensive snaps.
The Cardinals might announce roster moves Friday or might wait until Saturday when they make decisions about what players on the practice squad to elevate to the active roster, but one to watch for is the potential return of Gardeck, who will impact play on special teams and also give some help on defense.
The Cardinals make a few moves affecting the 53-man roster, placing Charles Washington on IR, signing Antonio Hamilton and designating Dennis Gardeck to return from IR.
The Arizona Cardinals made some roster moves Wednesday affecting the 53-man roster. Safety and special teams ace Charles Washington, who suffered a hamstring injury in the Cardinals’ 31-19 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, was placed on injured reserve. He will miss a minimum of three games. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury indicated Monday when he spoke to the media that Washington would be unable to play this week against the Los Angeles Rams.
To replace him on the roster, they signed cornerback Antonio Hamilton from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, a move that was reported Tuesday.
Both Hamilton and Washington have been the team’s gunners on the punt team. Hamilton had been elevated from the practice squad to the active roster each of the first three weeks of the season, once as a COVID replacement and twice as a standard elevation.
Hamilton will obviously continue to be a gunner on punts, but it is uncertain who will replace Washington. Receiver Antoine Wesley handled those duties after Washington got hurt in the game on Sunday.
The Cardinals also designated linebacker Dennis Gardeck for return. He is on injured reserve and missed the first three games of the season. He now can return to practice and the team has 21 days to activate him and have him take a place on the active roster.
Gardeck will have to miss at least the first three games of the season after suffering a hand injury.
The comeback for Arizona Cardinals linebacker Dennis Gardeck will have to wait a few weeks. After coming back from a torn ACL suffered last December and participating fully in practice on Wednesday, he is placed on injured reserve after suffering a hand injury. He will be out at least three weeks.
The team announced the move to place him on IR and added two players to the roster.
To replace Gardeck, linebacker Kylie Fitts was signed from the practice squad.
With receiver Antoine Wesley landing on the COVID reserve Friday, the Cardinals elevated cornerback Antonio Hamilton from the practice squad to the roster as a COVID replacement. He will likely be active on Sunday to play special teams.
With the elevation of Hamilton, it likely signals that rookie cornerback Tay Gowan will be inactive tomorrow.
Gardeck was a full participant Wednesday but limited Thursday as he added a hand injury to the list.
The Arizona Cardinals had their Thursday practice and had no new additions to the injury report. However, linebacker Dennis Gardeck has a new injury and was downgraded.
Tight end Darrell Daniels, dealing with a toe injury that he suffered in the preseason, was limited in practice for the second day in a row.
But it was Gardeck who had a change. He was a full participant on Wednesday with his knee as the injury listed. He, of course, is coming back from a torn ACL he suffered last December.
On Thursday, he was downgraded to limited with a hand injury to go along with his knee. With practice squad linebacker Kylie Fitts getting protected this week, you have to wonder if Gardeck will play on Sunday. Of course, he might have been inactive this weekend anyway in his return from the ACL surgery.
Only TE Darrell Daniels missed any practice time and was limited. LB Dennis Gardeck was a full participant.
The Arizona Cardinals released their first injury report of the year and had almost 100% participation from all players. Aside from defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, who begins the season on injured reserve, they are very healthy.
Only two players appeared on the injury report and only one missed any time.
Linebacker Dennis Gardeck, who is coming off a torn ACL, was surprisingly a full participant in practice Wednesday, which suggests he might be ready to play in the season opener.
However, if he doesn’t have an expected role this weekend, he might have only had a few reps on special teams.
Tight end Darrell Daniels was the only player limited. He has a toe injury.
With his activation from PUP, Gardeck will be on the initial 53-man roster, but they have a couple of ways to handle him if he isn’t ready to play in Week 1.
The Arizona Cardinals activated linebacker Dennis Gardeck from PUP on Monday before practice, allowing him to get some on-field work with his teammates for the first time since last December.
He tore his ACL in Week 15 and now is on track to play, although that might not be in Week 1.
He told reporters Monday after practice his situation is still “day-to-day” and that “it’s too far ahead yet” to project when he would play again.
By taking him off PUP, the option of saving a roster spot to start the year is sort off the table. Had he remained on PUP until final cuts, he would be ineligible to play for the first six weeks of the season but he would not burn a roster spot.
If they don’t think he can play in Week 1, they still have other options.
They could simply make him inactive for a game or two, but that still uses a roster spot.
They do also have another possibility.
Because the rules for injured reserve have changed, any player can return from it. Previously, a player had to be out eight weeks and only one or two players could be designated to return. Before that, heading to IR automatically ended the player’s season.
Now, if a player makes the initial 53-man roster, he can go on IR and return in as early as three weeks.
If they think he will be out at least three weeks, they could put him on the 53-man roster and then place him on injured reserve, allowing them to sign another player to play in those first three weeks.
By all accounts, he has been ahead of schedule in his rehab, but head coach Kliff Kingsbury says they will be cautious and smart about his actual return to playing.
So whether it is in Week 1 or soon after that, Gardeck will, in fact, be part of the final 53 when rosters are cut down next week by Tuesday afternoon.
The Cardinals get two key defenders for the 2021 season at practice for the first time in training camp.
The Arizona Cardinals got back two key defensive players at practice on Monday to kick off the final week of training camp. Defensive end J.J. Watt and outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck were both activated off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, making it possible for them to practice.
Watt’s return was expected. He said it himself on Friday during the Cardinals’ second preseason game.
The move to activate Gardeck is more surprising considering he tore his ACL in Week 15 last season. The team will be cautious and careful about getting him back to playing in games, so he might not be able to play to start the season.
However, this move allows him to play earlier than had he remained on PUP to start the season, he would have had to miss the first six games.
Gardeck seven sacks last season on only 93 defensive snaps, the first defensive snaps of his career. He was second on the team in sacks.
The team also activated receiver Andy Isabella from the COVID list.
Their corresponding moves to fit them on the roster were to release tight end Ian Bunting and receiver Rico Gafford. They also waived cornerback Luq Barcoo with a failed physical designation. He was a waiver claim over the weekend.
Arizona Cardinals LB Dennis Gardeck, who tore the same ACL in high school, is apparently ahead of schedule in his recovery.
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Dennis Gardeck had a fantastic season. In addition to being a stud special teams player, he made an impact on defense for the first time in his career with seven sacks in only 93 snaps.
However, his season was cut short when he tore his ACL in December against the Philadelphia Eagles.
This is not the first time he has had to come back from this injury.
Gardeck is not ready for football activities. He is only now doing light sprints.
His mentality is to try and do more. He often has to be held back by trainers. More isn’t better in many cases in recovery.
Will he be ready for training camp? Common sense would say no, but head coach Kliff Kingsbury thinks it is possible with Gardeck.
“I wouldn’t put anything past Dennis,” he said after minicamp concluded. “He looks great and it sounds like he is ahead of schedule by all accounts, so we will see how he feels going into training camp.”
It is most likely he begins on the physically unable to perform list (PUP). The start of the season would be just shy of nine months from the injury, which is roughly the fastest we have seen any athlete recover.
That would suggest that landing on PUP to start the year with the chance to make an impact over the final half of the season would be reasonable.
That said, Kingsbury thinks Gardeck’s timetable could be shorter.
“If he’s not ready for the start (of training camp), I’d expect him to be ready soon thereafter.”
