QB Kyler Murray among 8 Cardinals team captains for 2020

Expecting to name six team captains for the 2020 season, the Arizona Cardinals ended up with eight because of a number of close votes, head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday.

On offense, second-year quarterback Kyler Murray, 17-year pro Larry Fitzgerald and left tackle D.J. Humphries were voted captains by their teammates.

Cornerback Patrick Peterson, edge rusher Chandler Jones, nose tackle Corey Peters and linebacker Jordan Hicks will lead the defense. Peterson was not a captain last year but was voted as a team leader five times prior (2013, 2015-2018).

Dennis Gardeck, the third-year undrafted pro, was voted in as special teams captain. It was his first appointment as team captain.

“Working at McDonald’s (while playing at West Virginia State) to being a team captain with the Arizona Cardinals is quite a story,” Kingsbury said. “It’s just a testament to his determination, his work ethic. Even on scout teams, he’s one of those guys, when I’m calling offensive plays, you’re like, ‘There’s Gardeck, screwing up the play.’ You want him to go hard but he goes so hard every snap that sometimes he makes it look bad.

“That’s just his mentality, that’s his mindset when he steps on that field every day. Just thrilled to see that and he was definitely excited.”

Last year, Arizona named only five captains: Fitzgerald, Jones, Peters, center A.Q. Shipley and punter Andy Lee.

Kingsbury believes the close voting in the process to name team captains for 2020 indicates that the Cardinals’ locker room culture is moving in the right direction with so many players being viewed as leaders.

“I think since we’ve got here, that’s what we tried to do is build a culture that people want to be in the building and want to work hard and want to work for each other,” he said.

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