Pro Football Rumors
JUNE 6: While the Cardinals gave Albert Breer of SI.com an emphatic “no” when he asked prior to this year’s draft if they would trade Sweat, Breer says he would not rule out a deal. Given Gannon’s presence in Green Bay, Breer believes the Packers remain a viable landing spot, particularly if Gannon does not believe he can help former first-rounder Lukas Van Ness start living up to his draft status.
JUNE 3: One season into a four-year, $76.4MM contract, Cardinals outside linebacker Josh Sweat has drawn trade interest this spring. However, it appears those teams will have to look elsewhere for pass-rushing help. The Cardinals are not dealing Sweat, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
After coming off the board in the fourth round of the 2018 draft, Sweat spent his first seven seasons in Philadelphia. He broke out as a starter from 2021-22, Jonathan Gannon‘s two-year run as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, and continued to perform well after Gannon left to become the Cardinals’ head coach.
Sweat capped off his Eagles tenure with a 2.5-sack outburst in a Super Bowl LIX victory over the Chiefs in February 2025. Hitting free agency a few weeks later enabled Sweat to reunite with Gannon in Arizona, but their second partnership lasted just one year. The Cardinals fired Gannon in January on the heels of a 4-13 season, though new head coach Mike LaFleur retained defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.
Gannon is now the Packers’ D-coordinator, which has sparked social media rumors that they will swing a trade for Sweat. It might make sense for a team that will likely open the season without elite edge defender Micah Parsons, who is rehabbing from the tore ACL he suffered last December. But Rapoport dumped freezing cold water on the possibility, writing on X: “#AZCardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat is not being traded. Not to the #Packers or anywhere.”
Sweat has stayed away from Cardinals OTAs, but that was also the case when Gannon was in charge last year. LaFleur is unconcerned. He spoke highly of Sweat last week, saying (via Grant Gordon of NFL.com): “I’m just excited about the fact that I don’t have to game plan against this guy. I got to know him when I first got this job. He’s a good dude. He goes about his process and he’s not the first guy to go about his process the way he is in terms of how he’s training and all that.”
As a member of one of the NFL’s worst teams in 2025, Sweat was a rare bright spot. He put together his second 17-game season and tallied career highs in sacks (12) and forced fumbles (four). Despite his efforts, the Cardinals tied for the third-fewest sacks in the league (30). While his importance to their defense is obvious, they are expected to remain among the league’s bottom feeders in 2026. With that in mind, there is a case general manager Monti Ossenfort should seriously consider trading Sweat this summer....
