The Arizona Cardinals have set their roster for the upcoming 2026 campaign, and while there aren’t many expectations surrounding this team, there’s a chance they could surprise some folks when they officially return to action. In some ways, their roster building throughout the offseason has already done just that, and that has continued in the days leading up to the start of the regular season.
With the Cardinals trimming their roster down to 53 players, one guy whose name began popping up in trade rumors was star defensive end Josh Sweat. While Sweat has ended up staying put for the time being, some folks are wondering if he could be on the move before Week 1 rolls around. According to one NFL insider, though, Arizona has no intention of moving on from Sweat for the time being.
Cardinals Not Looking to Trade Josh Sweat
After spending the first seven years of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2021 and helped the team win Super Bowl LIX, Sweat signed with the Cardinals in free agency ahead of the 2025 campaign. With a four-year, $76.4 million contract being handed to him, Arizona clearly had high hopes for Sweat.
While the team itself struggled, Sweat turned in arguably the most productive year of his career. Sweat started all 17 games for the Cardinals and picked up a career-high 12 sacks to go along with 30 tackles, four forced fumbles, and a pair of pass breakups. His underlying pass-rush metrics weren’t necessarily great, but you can’t argue with the numbers that Sweat posted.
Entering the 2026 campaign, Arizona is clearly rebuilding, which led to trade rumors beginning to swirl around Sweat, with the Green Bay Packers being labeled a potential landing spot. The Packers have denied having any sort of discussions about trading for Sweat, though, and according to NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, that’s because the Cardinals were never looking to move on from him.
What was clear during roster cuts was sources did not anticipate the Cardinals trading Josh Sweat and Arizona had no plans of doing so,” Fowler wrote in a post on X. “Never say never with these things, with trade deadline a potential window, but I was told in no uncertain terms Sweat was going nowhere.”
Josh Sweat Set to Continue Leading Cardinals’ Pass Rush in 2026
Depending on how the season unfolds, the Cardinals could eventually look to trade Sweat, but as of right now, that doesn’t appear to be part of their plans. Sure, Arizona is rebuilding, but it still needs guys who can go out and play football at a high level on Sunday, which is precisely what Sweat can do as the leader of its defensive line.
Sweat spent most of training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a left knee injury, but he was activated from the list last week, clearing the way for him to suit up for the team’s Week 1 action. The Cardinals will kick off the 2026 campaign with a matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sep. 13.
Cardinals’ Josh Sweat Trade Rumors Get Shot Down by Insider