A.J. Green played for the Bengals for a decade, while Myjai Sanders and James Wiggins played collegiately for Cincinnati.
The Arizona Cardinals landed in Cincinnati Thursday afternoon in preparation for their preseason opener against the Bengals Friday night. It is only the second time the Cardinals have faced the Bengals in the preseason and the first time since 1971.
For a trio of Cardinals, it will be their first football trip back to Cincinnati, either since they played for the Bengals or for the Cincinnati Bearcats in college.
Myjai Sanders, one of the Cardinals’ two third-round pass rushers, has high praise for Gardeck.
The Arizona Cardinals have to remake their outside linebacker room this year because of the departure of Chandler Jones in free agency. Markus Golden returns on one side, but the room is made up mostly by guys trying to reestablish themselves as pass rushers or by guys trying to make a name for the first time.
One player trying to make a name for himself is rookie Myjai Sanders and one trying reestablish himself is Dennis Gardeck.
Gardeck had seven sacks in 2020 in only 93 defensive snaps before tearing his ACL. Sanders was a third-round pick who has flashed some potential.
Sanders says Gardeck has been very helpful and he even compared him to one of the best pass rushers we have seen in recent history,
He referred to Von Miller when describing Gardeck’s play.
“It’s just How fluid he is with what he does,” Sanders told reporters Tuesday. “He never wastes a step. He’s always going forward. Everything he does is intentional. He’s really precise about what move he’s going to throw, and it starts in the meeting room. He always says what he’s going to do before we get on the field, and he actually does it.”
Gardeck is undersized as an edge rusher at 6-0 and 232 lbs. He did not have a sack in 2021 after his seven in 2020.
He will have an expanded role this coming season.
But Sanders says he hasn’t seen anyone with the same pass-rushing force and ability, “not since Von Miller,” who has 115.5 career sacks in 11 seasons.
Perhaps it isn’t an apt comparison. Miller is longer and more athletic, but he does have great technique.
But for a rookie to even mention one of the greats of this generation with a player like Gardeck, it shows just how much respect the veteran has had on Sanders and the impact he has had in his early development.
Check out rookie Myjai Sanders and other Cardinals players who have worn No. 41 over the years.
As the Arizona Cardinals return to practice at training camp Monday following their off day, they are less than six weeks away from the start of the 2022 regular season.
In 41 days, they will take the field at State Farm Stadium in Week 1 to host the Kansas City Chiefs.
Rookie outside linebacker Myjai Sanders currently wears No. 41. He and others before him to wear the number are below.
The two third-round pass rusher for the Cardinals are expected to have a role on defense this coming season.
The Arizona Cardinals selected two edge defenders in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft. Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders hopefully can impact the pass rush this season as rookies, aiding in making up for the loss of Chandler Jones, who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency.
Thomas was the higher pick, selected 87th overall, and had the better production in college, but it is Sanders, drafted 100th overall, who appears to have the early edge in development.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph was asked about the pair of rookies Saturday.
“Myjai right now is playing really fast and you can see his natural pass-rush ability,” he said. “He’s going to help us rush the passer on sub downs for sure. Cam right now is trying to figure out how to play with his power and grow in that area.”
Sanders appears to already have a spot in certain packages, while Thomas still needs some work.
Thomas played only one season on the edge at San Diego State but never played standing up, which Arizona’s outside linebackers often do.
Joseph doesn’t think that Thomas is behind. He just is making more adjustments.
Both should have roles in 2022 as rookies.
“They both should help us win this year in certain packages,” he said.
Both will be players to watch in camp and especially in the preseason to see how much impact they can make.
The Cardinals drafted both Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders in the third round. Which can develop into a top pass rusher in the NFL?
The Arizona Cardinals are transitioning this offseason at outside linebacker. 2021 sack leader Markus Golden returns in 2022 but Chandler Jones, the all-time franchise leader in sacks, is no longer on the team. He signed a three-year contract to join the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason.
The Cardinals did not add an established, proven pass rusher this offseason. They hope to replace Jones’ production with a combination of Devon Kennard, Dennis Gardeck and two rookies they drafted in the third round — Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders.
Thomas was one of the nation’s best pass rushers for San Diego last season. He reminds some of Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. He has the size, athleticism and motor to be successful.
Sanders is leaner but was very disruptive last season for Cincinnati but only had 2.5 sacks last season. He missed several.
Can either of them develop into one of the best edge defenders in the league, appearing on a similar Touchdown Wire list in the years to come?
Sanders, drafted in the third round, gets a four-year deal worth $5.05 million.
The Arizona Cardinals the second of their two third-round draft picks to select linebacker Myjai Sanders out of Cincinnati. He was drafted with the 87th overall pick, the selection acquired as part of the trade for receiver Marquise Brown.
Sanders signed his four-year rookie contract recently.
Over the Cap has the details of his deal. We go over all of it below.
Myjai Sanders contract details
Sanders’ contract is for four years and is worth a little more than $5.04 million.
He receives a signing bonus of $849,020. It is the only guaranteed money of his contract. None of his yearly salaries are guaranteed.
He will make the league’s minimum salary in 2022 at $705,000. That increases to more than $934,000 in 2023, then to more than $1.16 million in 2024 and then to more than $1.39 million in 2025.
Salary cap information
Sanders’ signing bonus is prorated for cap purposes over the four years of the contract. His cap hit each year will be his salary plus the prorated amount of his bonus.
With Sanders signing his rookie contract, the Cardinals only have Cameron Thomas left of their eight draft picks to sign with the team.
We are not at the end of May and the Arizona Cardinals have all but one of their eight draft picks under contract. Keaontay Ingram, Lecitus Smith and Jessee Luketa signed their rookie deals last week. Trey McBride, Christian Matthew and Marquis Hayes signed theirs on Tuesday.
The Cardinals announced Wednesday that linebacker Myjai Sanders, one of their two third-round selections, signed his four-year rookie contract.
Linebacker Cameron Thomas, the Cardinals’ first third-round pick, is the only one of their draft picks who remains unsigned.
Sanders played four seasons at Cincinnati and was a two-time first-time American Athletic Conference selection. In 2020, he was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award as the best defensive player in college football after finishing the season with 31 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and five passes defensed. Last season as a senior, Sanders was named first-team All-AAC for the second straight season while helping the Bearcats play in the College Football Playoff.
The Cardinals drafted him with the selection they received in the trade for receiver Marquise Brown.
The Cardinals saw a very disruptive player when they watched tape of 3rd-round pick Myjai Sanders.
When the Arizona Cardinals selected Cincinnati edge defender Myjai Sanders with the 100th overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft, many people wondered why.
On the surface, he was an edge rusher who only had 2.5 sacks in 2021 and weighed only 228 lbs. He did not have great athletic testing numbers.
It seems like a reach to select him in the top 100 picks of the draft.
The Cardinals feel there is a lot there beyond the stats and measurements.
“You look at his numbers, they’re really ho-hum,” Cardinals vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris said on The Dave Pasch podcast. “But if you really study the tape and really study how disruptive this guy is…you’re getting a guy that is a tempo-setter. He plays with his hair on fire, tons of upside.”
The weight is another story. While he weighed in at the NFL combine at 228 lbs, that was in part because he got sick and lost weight right before the combine.
“He plays at 240,” Harris said. Sanders said he was at 248 on his conference call following his selection in the draft. Looking at him, though, you see a very thin player.
He had a ton of quarterback pressures last season for Cincinnati. Harris said Sanders must improve at finishing on rushes at the quarterback. “He missed about seven sacks,” Harris said of Sanders in 2021.
“He’s just going to have to slow down a little bit,” he added.
And that is a good thing. Bruce Arians always said he preferred having to tell players “whoa” rather than “sic’em.”
Sanders should hopefully get rotational pass-rushing opportunities this coming season.
The Cardinals believe he could be a more productive pro player than college player. We will see if that ends up being the case.
The Arizona Cardinals take another third-round pass rusher, selecting Cincinnati’s Myjai Sanders with the 100th pick in the draft.
The Arizona Cardinals entered the NFL draft needing help on the edge with the pass rush, as Chandler Jones departed in free agency. They have now addressed that with two players in the third round.
After selecting San Diego State’s Cameron Thomas No. 87 overall, they doubled up in the third round and selected Cincinnati’s Myjai Sanders with the 100th overall pick, the selection they acquired in the trade for receiver Marquise Brown.
