ClutchPoints
Once the dust of Super Bowl LIX fully settles, the Philadelphia Eagles will be busy in the offseason. The NFC champions will have 16 players become unrestricted free agents in 2025 NFL free agency, none more notable than edge rusher Josh Sweat.
Zach Baun, Brandon Graham and Mekhi Becton join Sweat as the most prominent names on Eagles’ who will hit free agency in 2025. Of them, none are currently making more than Sweat, who signed a one-year, $10 million extension in 2024.
Sweat rebounded after a regressive year in 2023 with another big season in 2024. The former Pro Bowler led the team with eight sacks on the year, appearing in all but one game. Sweat was a staple of Vic Fangio’s defense that allowed the fewest points per game in the league.
At 27, Sweat is still in the prime of his career. He has spent all seven of his years with the Eagles, but with change potentially on the horizon, he could suit up in a new uniform in 2025.
Expect a lot of moves from the New England Patriots in 2025. They had already made one significant transaction by hiring Mike Vrabel as their next head coach, but that maneuver was only the first of many more to come. New England has a top-five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and the most cap space in the league to use in free agency.
The Patriots will focus on building around Drake Maye, but they need even more help on defense. New England ranked last in 2024 with just 28 sacks on the year and never established a consistent edge rusher after trading Joshua Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs during the year. Edge rusher should be among Eliot Wolf’s top priorities in the offseason, with few options better than Sweat.
Sweat enjoyed the most success of his career in 2022 when he posted a career-high 11 sacks. He thrived in Fangio’s system, but Sweat never looked better than he did with Jonathan Gannon as his defensive coordinator. The lone Pro Bowl appearance of his career came under Gannon in 2021.
It just so happens that Gannon and the Arizona Cardinals enter 2025 NFL free agency with a lot of cap space to use. Most of that is due to the expiring contracts of L.J. Collier, Dennis Gardeck, and Kyzir White. Even if they are able to re-sign any of them, Arizona’s 41 sacks in 2024 ranked in the middle of the league, as Zaven Collins led the team with just five. Sweat is certainly happy where he is, but a reunion with Gannon must be tempting, especially with the amount of money the Cardinals could offer.
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