Many football players have the dream of going to the NFL but face numerous challenges when they make it. However, for Baltimore native and Cardinals outside linebacker Victor Dimukeje, pressure wasn’t a factor.
Dimukeje grew up playing football at Northwest Regional Park, located in Owings Mills near the Ravens facility. Some Ravens would even stop by and visit him and his teammates, inspiring Dimukeje to work to make it to the NFL.
Ravens legend Terrell Suggs was one of the players who would show up to local events and inspire the younger generation of football talent.
“I actually saw Terrell earlier this year. I met him last year, but I saw him earlier this year and I talked to him a little bit,” Dimukeje said on Glenn Clark Radio Oct. 26. “I told him how he used to come to my rec games and stuff like that. … I had to reflect on it and see how far I came in life.”
Dimukeje now hopes to give back to the community that shaped him and build relationships with future players the same way Suggs did.
“I always used to think, ‘Oh my god, one day I want to play in the NFL,'” said Dimukeje, a graduate of Boys’ Latin. “So being able to be in the position I dreamed of means a lot to me because I’m able to give back and show the kids there’s more to life. You can do whatever you want to. You can achieve your dreams.”
So far, Dimukeje’s performance in the NFL has shown he deserves to play with the best. The 6-foot-2, 262-pound linebacker is tied for the team lead in sacks, with four in eight games, along with fellow linebacker and close friend Dennis Gardeck.
Gardeck is the teammate who feels more like a mentor to Dimukeje than anybody else among Arizona’s linebackers. Dimukeje has been able to lean on Gardeck since being taken in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Duke.
“He was one of the guys that helped me out a lot,” Dimukeje said. “He used to help me out with pass-rushing, giving me words of advice when I was struggling with something.”
Now, each is looking to break the tie and get that fifth sack. However, the Cardinals remain focused on the bigger problem at hand — their record. The team is 1-7 on the year, but its schedule has certainly not been easy.
Recently, the Cardinals have had to play the San Francisco 49ers (5-3), Cincinnati Bengals (4-3), Seattle Seahawks (5-2) and Baltimore Ravens (6-2).
“I wish this season was going a little better,” Dimukeje said. “But I’m just trying to make strides in my game and put my team in a position to win more games.”
Though the season is not going how the team intended, Dimukeje has still had moments this season that feel bigger than life — one of which was his first sack.
In Week 1, Dimukeje recorded his first NFL sack at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. — a location not all that far from his hometown of Baltimore.
“I had my whole family there because it was against the Commanders,” Dimukeje said. “Just to have them there when I recorded my first one was a big deal for me — I really couldn’t breathe for a second because it was a long time coming.”
But after making a few plays, Dimukeje remembered who he is and what he does on the gridiron. Since the beginning of his NFL career, there has been no significant weight on his shoulders.
“I always knew what I was capable of,” Dimukeje said. “God is helping me out a lot, and it’s just good to see the hard work paying off all through the summer and the three years I’ve been here.”
For more from Dimukeje, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Arizona Cardinals