The Jacksonville Jaguars made their second move of the first day of 2026 NFL free agency.
Not long after locking up cornerback Montaric “Buster” Brown to a three-year contract, the Jaguars re-signed outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck.
According to Ollie Connolly of the Read Optional, Gardeck’s deal is worth $12 million over two years. That’d be a sizable step up from the one-year, $2 million contract he signed late
last offseason as a 30-year-old free agent coming off major knee surgery.
The thing is, he earned it. Gardeck is as “intangibly rich” as they come and boasts the fundamentals to match his infectious energy. Despite his age and injury history, he can fill a variety of roles playing along the edge of the line of scrimmage. Re-signing a versatile veteran at a position of need felt like a no-brainer.
Gardeck finished the 2025 season with 48 combined tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 9 quarterback hits, 2 pass deflections, and 1 forced fumble. He’s totalled 204 tackles and 19.5 sacks over eight NFL seasons since going undrafted in 2018.
As of the time of this writing, we’re 90 minutes into the start of the league’s legal tampering period for free agency, yet there’s been no news on deals for linebacker Devin Lloyd or running back Travis Etienne. Maybe the team could bring them back if their markets weren’t as lucrative as expected…
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