The Detroit Lions should trade for Josh Sweat. The Lions have not had a steady hand next to Aiden Hutchinson, and Sweat could be the player to solve that, per Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report.
Last year, the Lions had Al-Quadin Muhammad and Marcus Davenport across from Hutchinson. However, Muhammad is now in Tampa Bay, and Davenport’s stint with the Lions was so unmemorable that he is still a free agent as we head into the summer months.
So, the Lions not only needed to replace the production of Muhammad, they needed to add to what they never got from Davenport. While the team added D.J. Wonnum, Derrick Moore, and Payton Turner, Knox argues that this is not enough and Sweat would provide more stability.
The Detroit Lions Don’t Have Enough Across From Aiden Hutchinson
GettyCould Josh Sweat be the game-changing acquisition for the Detroit Lions?
Wonnum has been up-and-down during his career. He has two eight-sack seasons, but one came in 2021, the other was in 2023. He had a serious injury in 2024 and was not quite all the way back in 2025. So, he had just seven sacks over those two years combined.
Payton Turner has not lived up to his first-round expectations for the New Orleans Saints. His potential is there, which is why he went so high, but with five sacks in four seasons, teams are losing patience.
Turner and Wonnum have combined for nine sacks over the past two years. Meanwhile, Josh Sweat has 20 sacks over the past two years. It is easy to see why the Lions are connected as a team to trade for Sweat.
The one thing that might stop them is Derrick Moore. He is a rookie second-round pick from Michigan who has some traits to get on the field early. If Moore hits, he is cheaper and signed longer term than Sweat, and if they trade for Sweat, he is going to limit Moore’s development opportunities.
However, if the team is not quite satisfied with Moore and if he is not progressing in training camp, or if they enter win-now mode later in the year and need some added firepower, Sweat could end up being the perfect name to put this group over the top.
Detroit Lions Must Block Division Rivals From Sweat
An underrated factor of trading for Sweat is that the Lions are not the only NFC North team linked to him. Knox lists both the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears as likely suitors for the Cardinals’ edge rusher, and it does make sense.
For the Bears, edge rusher remains their biggest need of the offseason after they did not address it in the NFL draft. Meanwhile, the Packers are familiar with Sweat because their new defensive coordinator was the Cardinals’ head coach. Packers DC Jonathan Gannon also coached Sweat as the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator before his time with the Cardinals, so if there is a team highly connected to Sweat, it is the Packers.
The Lions adding to their room and taking from the Packers is what every fan wants to see from their team.
Lions Could Boost Pass Rush, Hurt Rivals in Potential Trade