Gardeck: 'The Young Guys are Ready' After Departures of Chandler Jones, Jordan Hicks

The Arizona Cardinals have a more youthful outlook defensively going into the 2022 season. 

Veteran off-ball linebacker Jordan Hicks is a Minnesota Viking after three years in Arizona. Edge rusher Chandler Jones, the franchise leader in sacks, agreed to terms with the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday, and the Cardinals cut veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. 

Nose tackle Corey Peters and cornerback Robert Alford are free agents. 

The Cardinals can still add or bring back a couple of their veterans, and they have eight picks in the 2022 NFL Draft starting with the 23rd overall selection. However, the opportunity is there for some of the younger players to grab a larger role. 

General manager Steve Keim said at the NFL Scouting Combine that it's time for Isaiah Simmons and Zaven Collins to be the guys at inside linebacker. 

Edge rusher Dennis Gardeck, who re-signed this week, addressed that during a Zoom press conference on Wednesday. 

"Jordan is a great friend and mentor and I'm happy for him to be up in Minnesota," Gardeck said. "I'm going to miss him dearly . . . The young guys are ready to step into that role and I'm excited to see it."

Simmons and Collins are athletic, physical linebackers who bring different skills. Collins, who could get the green dot on his helmet in his second season, did not get many chances as a rookie, especially down the stretch. 

The same happened to Simmons in his first year in 2020. 

“Well, I think you always want, in an ideal world, you want somebody to come in right away and contribute, but there are certainly growing pains that all players sort of step into," Keim said at the Scouting Combine. "Both of those guys, the picks 8 (Simmons) and 16 (Collins) respectively, we expect them to have major contributions next year.”

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury also mentioned at the Combine the need to maximize their two young linebackers. 

The answers along the edge are less obvious. Gardeck said there is not one person who could replace Jones, who had 10.5 sacks last season. He said it will take a team effort. 

The Cardinals have Gardeck, Devon Kennard, Markus Golden and Victor Dimukeje on the roster at outside linebacker. 

"(Jones) has been a tremendous part of my career, teaching me pass rush and the way he does things, his thought process," Gardeck said. "I think it's gonna be a bunch of people stepping up and fill in that order."

Golden had a strong 2021 season, but none of the other three have put together a full year of production with the Cardinals. 

Hicks, Jones and Phillips played a combined 2,162 defensive snaps last season. Regardless of what the Cardinals do to continue filling the roster or how they rely on youth, the defense will have questions about how to replace those core players until the season begins.