TEMPE – The hits keep on coming for the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive front in 2024.
After watching linemen Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols go down in recent weeks, the unit must adjust yet again following the loss of outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck to a torn ACL in Monday’s 17-15 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
As one of Arizona’s primary pass rushers this year, Gardeck currently paces the team with three sacks on 101 pass rushes. From an outside-linebacker standpoint, he’s second behind Zaven Collins (11) in total quarterback pressures with nine.
Gardeck’s ability to drop into coverage and serve as a “sneaky run defender” upped his value even more.
But for as much as Gardeck is going to be missed for his contributions on the field, his impact off of it has been just as important.
Arizona Cardinals OLB Dennis Gardeck’s impact on the team goes well beyond his play on the field, DC Nick Rallis said Tuesday.
“It always hurts to lose a guy like that.” pic.twitter.com/wkjykLXlBQ
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) October 23, 2024
“It always hurts to lose a guy like that, an impact player. He’s a huge leader for us,” defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said Tuesday. “You lose multiple things with that. You lose the player, you lose the guy to a degree. He’s around, so he still leads but he’s a resilient guy. I talked to him today and last night about what he does on the field doesn’t define what makes him great. It’s who he is that makes him great.
“He’s going to attack what he has to do going forward the same way that he attacked playing and the same way he attacks everything in life. That’s why he’s had the success that he’s had. … It hurts and I know he’s probably hurt, but he’s got a positive attitude right now and he’ll be good.”
Now with Gardeck joining fellow defensive starters BJ Ojulari, Jones and Nichols on the shelf, it’s on those still healthy within Arizona’s outside linebackers room to step up in place of one of their veteran leaders.
And for a team that’s near the bottom in the league in quarterback pressures, everyone’s going to get a look.
Who replaces Dennis Gardeck at pass rusher?
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Given Gardeck’s abilities and Arizona’s defensive rotational philosophy, all signs point to even more of a pass-rushing platoon in his absence instead of a one-for-one replacement.
“I want multiple guys out there. I think it’s best when you’re rushing fresh, I think it’s best when you’re playing the run fresh,” Rallis said.
“Being in the trenches is hard. To play every snap when you’re on the line of scrimmage is very difficult. I want multiple guys to go in there and provide value and help us win.”
As far as who might get first crack at the updated rotation, Julian Okwara and Jesse Luketa figure to be ahead based on recent trends.
A late addition to the 53-man roster, Okwara has seen anywhere between 28% and 39% of available defensive snaps the past six games. This past Monday — when Gardeck went down — that number jumped up to 44%. He’s got four quarterback pressures on 59 pass rush attempts, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Luketa hasn’t seen the same number of reps as his veteran counterpart and was a healthy scratch through the first four games but has since carved out a role. He’s only got two quarterback pressures across 37 pass rushes, though he has seen a steady snap count around 20 the past three weeks.
Can Xavier Thomas get back into the Cardinals’ pass rush rotation?
With Okwara and Luketa expected to see an uptick in snaps, the attention turns to those who could potentially fill in behind them in Xavier Thomas and Victor Dimukeje.
The former presents an interesting situation after standing out in training camp before being a healthy inactive the last three weeks.
Thomas flashed his potential early on as a rookie. If he can get back to that, there’s a real chance he moves up the depth chart in a hurry.
“You’ve seen a couple guys this year get some opportunities and maximize some opportunities,” Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said Tuesday. “Roles change with production. That’s one of the things that go into your role is production, so I’m excited for our guys.”