Cardinals Hoping For Positive Ending To Dennis Gardeck's 'Remarkable Story'

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Dennis Gardeck's fairytale season met its antagonist on Sunday, when the Cardinals' outside linebacker was carted to the locker room with a knee injury late in the contest.


While there are only two games left in the regular season, there is hope for a happy ending.


Gardeck wouldn't have participated if the Cardinals practiced on Tuesday, but coach Kliff Kingsbury said there is a chance he will be available on Saturday against the 49ers.


"It will be a game-time decision to see how he feels," Kingsbury said. "We'll get him out there, move him around this week and take it from there."


It has been an incredible season for Gardeck, whose two sacks against the Eagles lifted him to seven on the year in only 93 defensive snaps. That is more sacks than big names like Cameron Jordan (6.5), DeMarcus Lawrence (5.5), Chase Young (5.5) and J.J. Watt (5.0).


Gardeck went undrafted out of college and made the Cardinals' roster in 2018 as a special teams ace. He got his first chance on defense this year after outside linebacker Chandler Jones went down with a season-ending biceps injury in Week 5.


The undersized pass-rusher hasn't let up since.


"He is such a remarkable story," Kingsbury said. "Watching him last year, how hard he practiced when he was on scout team. I saw a guy who would make plays every day on scout team. We had a hard time blocking him and I thought, 'Yeah, but it won't translate to Sundays.' Sure enough, it has. He's been tremendous."


Gardeck has become something of a cult figure on the Cardinals. Fans love him, as do his teammates. Quarterback Kyler Murray cheered giddily after Gardeck's first sack on Jalen Hurts.


"You can't have enough Dennises on your team," Murray said. "People may look at him, and he may not pass the eye test to a lot of people, but he's a great football player and you can't have enough of those guys. He does everything right. He does everything for the team. Accountable. Responsible. There's a reason why he's a captain on this team. I'm glad he's finally getting a chance to prove his play on the field."


The injury ended an impressive day for Gardeck against the Eagles. Not only did he have two sacks, but he had another pressure which resulted in a sack for defensive tackle Leki Fotu, and made a tackle on a bubble screen which had Kingsbury amazed by his pursuit.


"That was one I'll take and show my kids when I'm telling them how to play football," Kingsbury said. "He gets thrown to the ground, gets up, chases the guy down 30 yards and makes the tackle on a wide receiver. He plays the game the way it's meant to be played."

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