7-Year Veteran Signs Contract With Jacksonville Jaguars

Dennis Gardeck, Jacksonville Jaguars, Agree to Contract

The 2024 campaign started off as more of the same for Dennis Gardeck, who has carved a role for himself as a situational pass rusher. Through the first seven games, Gardeck played in seven games while making three starts, recording three sacks, 22 tackles, six tackles-for-loss, four quarterback hits, one interception, and a 72.0 PFF grade. Unfortunately, the veteran suffered a season-ending ACL injury against the Los Angeles Chargers.  In his absence, the Cardinals narrowly missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

Dennis Gardeck originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft. Signing with the Arizona Cardinals, the Sioux Falls product began his career in a special teams role. While he played in all 16 games, he didn’t record a start and finished his inaugural campaign with just seven tackles, no sacks, and no tackles-for-loss. The Cardinals finished with the worst record in football and replaced head coach Steve Wilks with Kliff Kingsbury.

The veteran spent 2019 in a similar role before breaking out in 2020. While he remained a situational player, the veteran thrived as a third down pass rusher, finishing the year with seven sacks, 16 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss, and 10 quarterback hits in 14 games. He returned to his limited role in 2021 and 2022 before earning a larger role in 2023.

Appearing in all 17 games while making a career-best eight starts, the Sioux Falls product finished the 2023 season with six sacks, 46 tackles, seven tackles-for-loss, and 12 quarterback hits.

Since signing his rookie contract, Dennis Gardeck has appeared in 96 games while making 17 starts. While on the field, the veteran recorded 17 sacks, 156 tackles, 23 tackles-for-loss, and 35 quarterback hits.