He was also a member of the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Francisco 49ers.

A native of Tyrone, Georgia, Gardner attended Sandy Creek High School, where he was teammates with Calvin Johnson.

Regarded as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, Gardner was not listed among the top offensive tackle prospects of his class.

[2] Gardner was an outstanding offensive lineman that started 48 consecutive games for the Yellow Jackets as a left tackle, he also helped future NFL running back Tashard Choice lead the ACC in rushing in both 2006 and 2007.

[4] Due to his surgery and subsequent inability to perform many of the combine and pro-day workouts, his stock dropped and he fell to the sixth round where he was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the eighth pick (181st overall) in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft.