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Okwara is set to start alongside linebackers Kyzir White and Mack Wilson after Dennis Gardeck suffered a season-ending ACL injury during Monday's win over the Chargers, Kevin Zimmerman of Arizona Sports reports.
Gardeck, who leads the Cardinals with three sacks this season, tore his ACL in the second half of Monday's game, and he will be out for the rest of the year. Okwara stepped in with the first-team defense following Gardeck's injury, and the former finished the game with one solo tackle across 35 snaps, including a season-high 29 snaps on defense. Okwara is the top candidate to start at linebacker alongside White and Wilson, though Krys Barnes and Jesse Luketa should also see their snaps on defense increase. Okwara's most productive season came in 2021 as a member of the Lions, during which he registered 27 tackles (18 solo), including 5.0 sacks, two pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery across 13 regular-season games.
