The Arizona Cardinals are receiving trade interest in one of their offseason holdouts. NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports that the Cardinals are getting calls on Josh Sweat.
Sweat had 12 sacks last season in his first year with Arizona and had a close relationship with Jonathan Gannon, whom the Cardinals moved on from.
This isn’t too unsurprising, as Sweat is currently in the middle of a holdout following the team’s coaching change.
The Pro Bowl edge rusher signed a four-year, $76 million contract with the Cardinals before the 2025 season. He reunited with head coach Jonathan Gannon, his former defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, the Cardinals elected to move on from Gannon following a miserable 3-14 season. That led to Sweat demanding a trade, despite Arizona retaining defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.
Cardinals Receiving Calls on Disgruntled Pro Bowler Josh Sweat
The Cardinals made Josh Sweat a priority in free agency, signing him to a $19 million per year deal. That investment paid off in the first year, as Sweat recorded 12 sacks and was named a Pro Bowler.
However, the coaching change and the franchise’s reputation across the league have the disgruntled Pro Bowler wanting out. Gannon has since moved on to a defensive coordinator role with the Green Bay Packers.
With the Cardinals embarking on another potential rebuild under new head coach Mike LaFleur, it would make sense for Arizona to strike a deal. The draft has already passed, so any picks coming back would be for 2027 or later. With Sweat on a pretty reasonable contract, the Cardinals should get a decent return.
Sweat is on the books for a $9.78 million base salary and a $16.385 million cap hit for 2026, according to overthecap.com. If the Cardinals trade the disgruntled pass rusher, it will likely be a post-June 1 designation to spread out the dead cap hit. Doing so would save the team $10.88 million on the cap.
The Cardinals have to think about what the better decision for the franchise is. Considering Sweat’s issues don’t seem to be contract-related, they’re in a compromising position on what to do with the disgruntled Pro Bowler.
Cardinals Pass Rush Situation Without Josh Sweat
However, a trade is easier said than done. The Cardinals invested a lot of money into Josh Sweat with the idea that he’d anchor their pass rush. Combined with 2025 first-rounder Walter Nolen III on the interior of the defensive line, the team would have two dynamic pass rushers on its front.
Should the Cardinals move on from Sweat, it exposes their lack of edge rush depth. Baron Browning figured to play a key role across from the Pro Bowler, after the team re-signed him to a two-year deal in March 2025. However, behind those two would be Zaven Collins and BJ Ojulari.
Collins has more utility as an edge setter on early downs against the run, but isn’t a premium pass-rushing threat. Ojulari is a former second-rounder whose career has been derailed by an ACL injury suffered in July 2024. He returned for eight games in 2025, recording just one sack and three QB hits.
The Cardinals would almost have to make a trade to address a weak group of edge rushers. Arizona has $19.3 million in effective cap space with Sweat on the books, with a trade pushing them over $30 million.
Monti Ossenfort will have to decide if keeping the disgruntled Pro Bowler is worth it, or if they need to embrace a potential rebuild and jettison talent that doesn’t want to be there. Considering his seat is getting hotter with each issue the team faces, it’s not going to be an easy one.
Cardinals Receiving Trade Interest on Disgruntled Pro Bowler Amid Offseason Holdout