The Arizona Cardinals have received trade calls on edge rusher Josh Sweat, per Jordan Schultz. This is the second time this year a report about Sweat and a trade has surfaced. The first report was in March after the Cardinals fired Jonathon Gannon.
A week ago, Sweat was absent from OTAs despite being healthy. Local reporters have gotten the sense that Sweat is unhappy in the desert.
Josh Sweat’s contract
Sweat signed a four-year contract with the Cardinals during free agency in 2025 that included $41 million in guarantees, with $38 of that guaranteed at signing. The only guarantees in Sweat’s salary come during the first two seasons of his contract. The Cardinals exercised Sweat’s $7.22 million option for 2026.
Those guarantees make Sweat’s contract tradeable. Per Over the Cap, the Cardinals would save $10.88 million in cap savings and only eat $5.5 million in dead money this season if they traded Sweat now that we’re in the post-June 1 window. The dead money would remain the same over the next two seasons, but the cap savings spike to $18.1 million.
Josh Sweat’s potential landing spots
Seweat, 29, is coming off his most productive season as a pro. He had a career-high 12 sacks and added 16 tackles for loss in what was a lost season for the Cardinals. He was great. The players around him were not. Sweat’s 14.1 percent pressure percentage was in the upper echelon of the NFL last season. For reference, Osa Odighizuwa’s pressure percentage was 13.9 percent.
Playoff teams should be all over Sweat. It’s unlikely Arizona, even with a new coaching staff, deals Sweat to one of the other three NFC West teams. The Cardinals may have missed their window to deal Sweat if they wanted to capitalize on his market. It goes without saying that the 49ers, as well as most other potential playoff teams, could use a talent like Sweat. He’d turn the Niners into Super Bowl favorites.
Realistically, the Green Bay Packers make the most sense. That’s where Jonathon Gannon now serves as the defensive coordinator. Former Eagles coach Christian Parker is now the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. Those are the two most logical landing spots for Sweat if he stays in the NFC.
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