The Green Bay Packers should be one of the teams that is calling the Arizona Cardinals to trade for Josh Sweat. The Cardinals’ edge rusher would like to be traded, and Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report has Sweat on the short list of teams that should be interested in him.
The reasoning makes plenty of sense, and the Packers should have an inside edge due to their defensive coordinator. The Packers hired Jonathan Gannon, who was once the head coach of the Cardinals. Gannon is the reason why Sweat is in Arizona. Gannon was the Philadelphia Eagles‘ defensive coordinator when Sweat was in Philadelphia. When he went to Arizona, Sweat was one of the first players he brought with him.
Now that Gannon is out of Arizona, it makes sense why Sweat would want to leave as well. It also would make sense why Sweat would want to continue to play for Gannon, who he has had success. Considering teams want a motivated player, the offers from teams without Gannon might not look as strong. This could put the Packers in an opportunistic spot.
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On paper, the Packers have both Micah Parsons and Lukas Van Ness, and both of them could start for the team. However, Parsons tore his ACL relatively late into the 2025 season. His status for week 1 is up in the air, and given the long-term benefits he can give the team, they are unlikely to risk pushing him back into the lineup too soon.
Van Ness is a former first-round pick, but he hardly lived up to those expectations. If he does not make the most of this make-or-break season, the Packers will not extend him, and he could be entering his last year with the team.
Beyond that, Van Ness was at his best when the team had three edge rushers, and he could come in rotationally, slide inside, and rush from the interior. The Packers moved on from Rashan Gary this offseason, making a legitimate hole for Sweat. Sweat and Van Ness can start while Parsons recovers, and when Parsons returns, Van Ness can shift back into the third edge rusher role.
Josh Sweat Has Been Productive in Recent Years
The biggest question is going to come down to the cost to acquire him. On one hand, he is going to be 29 years old with a $23M cap hit this year. That is a lot for a player who might not have many prime years left. On the other hand, this is a player who had a career-high 12 sacks last year and 20 sacks over the past two seasons. He is obviously a good fit for the Gannon defense, so the production could be expected to last.
More than that, other teams not only will be deterred by him only playing well under Gannon, but the age and contract will scare them off just as much. This makes it more likely than not that the Packers can acquire Sweat.
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