As NFL training camps across the country near their starting dates, plenty of rookies will get their first taste of what an eye opening experience NFL training camps can be.
It’s tough enough for rookies that were drafted to pick up on everything, but it is even tougher for all of the undrafted free agents reporting to camps to learn enough about their job to impress the coaching staffs enough just to make the team.
That job becomes ever tougher when trying to learn two different positions, but that is exactly what Pittsburgh Steelers rookie Devin Gardner is attempting to do.
Gardner, a Michigan product originally signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent where the Pats were attempting to move him from quarterback to wide receiver like they did with Julian Edelman. The Pats ended up releasing Gardner on May 18 and one day later the Steelers claimed him off waivers.
Now with the Steelers, Gardner is attempting to not only just learn to make the transition to wide receiver, but has also been practicing at quarterback as well.
“They told me over the break to keep working on both (quarterback and wide receiver), to split time working at both so I’m doing two-a-days a lot,” Gardner told Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com. “It’s rough, but it’s exciting because they want to try and use me in different schemes and they think I’ve got a lot of skills.”
Though a different coaching staff at the time, the Steelers had success using Kordell Stewart in a similar fashion in the early 1990’s.
With the way the Steelers offense is assembled, and at least on paper it looks as if they could be one of the best units in the entire league once again, it can never hurt to have more weapons.
While Gardner certainly faces an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster as a wide receiver, making it as a quarterback may be the easier route as he will be competing with the likes of Landry Jones and Tajh Boyd for the Steelers No. 3 quarterback.
While at Michigan, Gardner got off to a good start to the 2013 season when he had 1,779 passing yards, 660 rushing yards, and 22 total touchdowns throughout the first seven games of the season. Yet while Gardner isn’t a prototypical NFL quarterback, he is a playmaker and you can never have too many of those.
It’s that playmaking ability, along with his size (6-foot-4, 216 pounds) that make teams envision Gardner as a wide receiver. And let’s be honest, with Ben Roethlisberger and Bruce Gradkowski locking down the top two quarterback positions for the Steelers, Gardner’s quickest way onto the field would be as a wide out.
But it is that versatility that could make him an intriguing option. Steelers’ fans saw with Antwaan Randle-El, that packages can be put in to take full advantage of a players skill set.
Gardner has a long way to go before he can be compared in that class though and knows he has an uphill battle in front of him to make the Steelers roster.
But he is willing to do anything to do so and that is a great sign.
“I haven’t been working on my punting, but if they ask me, I’ll try to kick it 50 yards,” Gardner said.
With camp just around the corner it will be very interesting to see how the Steelers plan on using Gardner and if he can open up enough eyes to make the team.
Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Steelers
