Former Undrafted Free Agent Signs with Jaguars
On June 4th, 2025, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced they are signing outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck to a contract where the details have not yet been specified, per Jordan Schultz via X. Gardeck spent his entire seven-year career playing for the Arizona Cardinals but had his 2024 season cut short due to a torn ACL suffered in a Week Seven win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Gardeck joins a team that could use the LB help, with Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd being the only noticeable names in the middle of the defense. Gardeck, should he fully recover from his torn ACL, will find himself in an immediate starting role, potentially bringing Jacksonville back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 season.
Undrafted after the 2018 NFL Draft, the OLB out of Sioux Falls was signed by the Cardinals and played all 16 games as a rookie, primarily on special teams. Gardeck would not get his first start until December of the 2021 NFL Season versus the Chicago Bears, where he would record four total tackles. Those four tackles would be his second-most in a single game at that point, missing his career high of five in a single game achieved in 2020. Gardeck was not a consistent starter for Arizona, starting in only 17 of the 96 games he took snaps in, but was constantly trying to find playing time behind Mack Wilson, Kyzir White, Zaven Collins, and B.J. Ojulari.
Now in Jacksonville, Gardeck should have no trouble finding the field. The OLB will be 31 before the season begins, having recorded 17 sacks in his career, with a career-high seven in 2020, earning him more playing time and a handful of starts for Arizona. Additionally, over the last two seasons, Gardeck recorded nine sacks and 68 tackles, which is the most in any two consecutive years of his career, given the number of games he missed in 2024. The new Jaguar waited for a call from a team after not being resigned by the Cardinals, but found a new home that may be able to use his experience to elevate the Jaguars, who have never been to the Super Bowl in more than 30 years since becoming an expansion team.
