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Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat.
It surely burned the Philadelphia Eagles to watch edge rusher Josh Sweat walk out the door in free agency following a bravura 2024 season.
That he went to a terrible team in the Arizona Cardinals softened the blow a little bit, because there was no way he could come back to burn his old team.
If Sweat were to land with a contender — and in the NFC, at that — things might start to feel much differently.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport proposed a “shocking” trade that would send Sweat from the Cardinals to the Chicago Bears — and possibly impact the NFC playoff picture in the process.
In Davenport’s trade pitch, the Bears get a conditional 2027 3rd-round pick and 2028 3rd-round pick in exchange for Sweat, who led the Cardinals with 12.0 sacks in 2025.
Sweat has been the subject of trade rumors since he refused to show up for the start of OTAs.
“Sweat had 12 sacks last season, and he’s under contract through 2028 at a reasonable amount,” Davenport wrote. “But the harsh reality is that Arizona may well be the NFL’s worst team in 2026 — the Redbirds aren’t going to be contenders for a while. The Bears, meanwhile, are the defending NFC North champions and a team that badly needs to upgrade the pass rush after logging just 35 sacks last season. Pairing Josh Sweat and Montez Sweat would accomplish that goal — and almost guarantee that multiple broadcasters mistakenly call them brothers or cousins, even though they are not related.”
Josh Sweat’s Issue: Cardinals NFL’s Worst Team
Perhaps the biggest issue for Sweat — and the reason for his absence — is that the Cardinals suck right now. Going 3-14 in 2025 was too much for him to handle after winning a Super Bowl the previous year with the Eagles.
“Don’t know the exact reason for the absence, but I’ve been hearing for awhile that Josh Sweat is not particularly happy in AZ,” NFL reporter Kyle Odegard wrote on his official X account on May 19.
The Eagles have been trade-happy when it comes to edge rushers since Sweat left town, cutting a deal for Miami Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips at the 2025 trade deadline, then trading for Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard this offseason, and signing him to a 4-year, $98 million contract extension.
Josh Sweat Got Emotional Over Pro Bowl Snub
In 2025, Sweat had a career-high 12.0 sacks to go with 13 TFL, 17 QB hits, and 4 forced fumbles. Sweat thought those numbers should have made him a Pro Bowler or NFL All-Pro. Neither happened.
Sweat finding out he didn’t make the Pro Bowl proved to be a bit of a trigger.
“I’m upset because there’s only two individual things that you can get and it’s Pro Bowl and All-Pro,” Sweat told ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss after he wasn’t selected to the Pro Bowl. “And I got one taken away from me. I’m just flat out saying it was taken away from me — and it ain’t the first time … It’s like I don’t know what else I could have done at that point. I don’t know what else I could have done. Now, in previous years, maybe you could have said he didn’t have the popularity, maybe he didn’t get the fan vote. This year, I was second in fan voting for NFC. It’s like, what else did they want me to do?”
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame