September 13, 2024
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4 former McHenry County-area players make initial NFL 53-man rosters

Alumni from Crystal Lake South, McHenry, Jacobs make the cut

By Michal Dwojak

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Dennis Gardeck leaves the field after playing the Dallas Cowboys a couple years ago. Gardeck is one of four former McHenry County-area players who made their respective NFL teams' initial 53-man roster Tuesday. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman/AP)

Four McHenry County-area high school alumni made their respective teams’ initial 53-man rosters after the NFL’s deadline Tuesday. Crystal Lake South’s Dennis Gardeck and Trevor Keegan, McHenry’s Andrew Rupcich and Jacobs’ Loren Strickland each made the cut.

Gardeck, a linebacker and 2013 South graduate, is entering the final season of his three-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals. Keegan, a guard and 2019 alumnus, is preparing for his rookie season after being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of April’s draft.

After signing with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and playing on the practice squad for a year and a half, 2017 McHenry West graduate Rupcich played five games last season and started two. He signed on to the Titans’ 53-man roster in December and is in contention for a starting job on the Titans’ offensive line.

Strickland, a 2018 Jacobs alumnus, made the Detroit Lions’ roster as a safety after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent in April. He became the first Golden Eagles alumnus to make an NFL roster.

Dalton Wagner, a 2017 Richmond-Burton graduate, will sign on to the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad, according to agent Brett Tessler. Wagner, an offensive lineman, signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 with the Raiders and missed the entire season after being placed on IR.

The Minnesota Vikings cut McHenry East 2012 graduate Robert Tonyan after he missed some of training camp with a back injury. They signed the former Bears and Packers tight end to their practice squad Wednesday.