Cardinals Activate DL J.J. Watt & OLB Dennis Gardeck From PUP, Plus WR Andy Isabella From COVID-19 List

The Cardinals announced they have activated DL J.J. Watt and OLB Dennis Gardeck from the PUP list. 

Arizona also activated WR Andy Isabella from the COVID-19 list. 

.@AZCardinals activate DL J.J. Watt and OLB Dennis Gardeck from PUP and activate WR Andy Isabella from the Reserve/Covid-19 list:https://t.co/mXPfW37XmD

— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) August 23, 2021

Arizona also released TE Ian Bunting and WR Rico Gafford and waived CB Luq Barcoo with a failed physical designation. The team had until Tuesday at 4 p.m. to cut to 80 players on the roster. 

Coming off the PUP list is a good sign for Gardeck, as it means he avoids staying on the list to start the season and missing a mandatory six games. He tore his ACL late last season. 

Watt, 32, is a former first-round pick of the Texans back in 2011. He was in the final year of his eight-year, $108.88 million contract that includes $51.8 million guaranteed when he was released by the Texans.

Watt was owed a non-guaranteed base salary of $17.5 million in 2021. The Cardinals signed him to a two-year deal worth $31 million its past March. 

In 2020, Watt appeared in all 16 games for the Texans and recorded 52 tackles, five sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles, a recovery, a defensive touchdown, and seven passes defended.

Gardeck, 26, signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent out of Sioux Falls in 2018. He made the final roster each of the past three seasons and after a breakout performance in 2020 he was placed on injured reserve in December.

Arizona re-signed Gardeck as a restricted free agent this offseason to the second-round tender, which is worth $3.384 million for the 2021 season. 

In 2020, Gardeck appeared in 14 games for the Cardinals recording 16 tackles, one fumble recovery and seven sacks.

Isabella, 24, is a former second-round pick by the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft out of UMass. He’s entering the third year of his four-year, $4,629,876 rookie contract, including a $1,387,176 signing bonus.

He’s set to make base salaries of $915,900 and $1,126,350 over the next two years.

In 2020, Isabella appeared in 13 games and recorded 21 receptions for 224 yards (10.7 YPC) and two touchdowns.