Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck was always one of the team’s best special teams playmakers. His role increased drastically in the 2020 season, however, when Chandler Jones went down with a season-ending biceps tear.
He immediately became a fan favorite, managing to rack up seven sacks in very limited snaps at outside linebacker. He brought energy and some much-needed pass rush help to a team that had just lost their star pass rusher for the season.
Unfortunately, Gardeck was unable to finish his 2020 campaign, as he suffered a torn ACL in a December matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Late-season knee injuries, particularly one of Gardeck’s severity, are always difficult to return to full strength by the next season.
Gardeck appeared on Arizona Sports 98.7 to discuss what was a frustrating season for him.
“I thought I was back to my normal speed,” Gardeck said. “I felt way more confident than I did in weeks previous and months previous until I got out there.”
“Maybe I wasn’t all the way back,” he said.
Gardeck mentioned how early in last offseason, he thought he was going to be able to play at close to full strength. Getting out on the field was a different story, however. He just didn’t feel like his normal self and never quite found his footing during the regular season.
This offseason is different for Gardeck. He’s had ample time now to recover from his injury and we get a chance to start conditioning and drills at 100%, as opposed to last year.
“I definitely felt back to pre-injury Dennis.”
The Cardinals are going to need a much production as possible from the edge rusher position following the loss of Chandler Jones in free agency. They added third-round picks Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders, but otherwise have not added any outside help.
The team extended Gardeck for the next three seasons, showing the faith they have in him returning at full speed this year.
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