The Arizona Cardinals activated two players on Monday from the physically unable to perform list, also known as “PUP”. One of the players was five-time All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt, someone that everyone should know and love.
The other was edge rusher and special teamer Dennis Gardeck, a football grinder who tore his ACL in Week 15 last season.
Gardeck’s rehab is far ahead of schedule, but coach Kliff Kingsbury will remain cautious.
“We want to be very careful with him since he had a longer-term injury,” Kingsbury said. “He’s done great on his rehab. We like where he is at. But, we’ll be cautious in how we approach it this week.”
Since Gardeck is off the “PUP” list, Gardeck will be on the roster and doesn’t leave the Cardinals with the extra spot. If and when Gardeck makes the 53-man roster, he could go on injured reserve and still return in as early as three weeks. The new NFL rules allow any injured reserve player to return. Before, heading to the injured reserve ended a players’ season.
Gardeck is happy with the progress he’s made.
“It was definitely a feel thing as far as my comfort with it,” Gardeck said Monday. “It was everything the trainers needed to see and they’re really good on being able to pick up on compensations and making sure that it looks good too.”
Practice saw Gardeck’s face for the first time this week for the Cards.
Gardeck’s 2020 Season
Gardeck was undrafted out of Sioux Falls in 2018 and made his mark in his first two seasons as a special teams specialist. He was named a Pro Bowl alternate on special teams in 2019 after leading the team with 10 tackles and one fumble recovery.
Not many Cardinals fans would’ve thought Gardeck would be second on the team in sacks before the 2020 season. In fact, Gardeck had seven sacks in only 93 defensive snaps. He was only behind former Cardinal Haason Reddick’s 12 sacks. Gardeck holds the team record for most sacks for an undrafted player.
He provided much-needed help once pass-rusher Chandler Jones was out for the season with an elbow injury in Week 5. It was a remarkable story when Gardeck stepped in and had his first two sacks in his NFL career against the New York Jets.
Gardeck’s celebration after the second sack was a highlight of its own.
Gardeck continued to sack quarterbacks, including Daniel Jones and Jalen Hurts twice each.
He earned an All-Pro vote as a special teams player in 2020. After tearing his ACL in Week 15, Gardeck had surgery after the season and told his followers that he would be back.
After sacking the quarterback for the first time in his career and doing so six more times, Gardeck now sits behind Jones on the Cardinals’ unofficial depth chart.
Locker Room Presence
You could see the difference when Gardeck hit the ground running in practice for the first time in 2021. J.J. Watt got a huge sense of what it means for Gardeck to be in the locker room for the team.
“Dennis is a fan-favorite, locker room favorite,” said Watt. “He’s a guy who everyone seems to love. He’s a hard worker, great work ethic and seems to get along with everybody. He took control of the music in the locker room before practice. It was dance, EDM type of stuff. But the first song, it took a good 12 minutes for the beat to drop. It took awhile, but we got there and it was great.”
Gardeck chimed in on his song selection.
“It was Opus by Eric Prydz,” Gardeck said. “You got to be patient with it. It’s a long build, but it’s worth it. It’s like a hike. The highest you climb, the more pretty the view is, or whatever.”
The hype is building up for Gardeck as the regular season is getting closer.
“Definitely kind of getting that anticipation, that itch again,” Gardeck said. “Being back out there with the guys and everything was so exciting.”
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