The Green Bay Packers have been rumored to be a destination for Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat since Green Bay hired his former coach Jonathan Gannon this offseason. The Cardinals have maintained that they do not plan to trade him, but a 1-4 start to the season could change that, according to Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report.
Knox notes that Sweat’s contract makes him cuttable after this season, and if the Cardinals are in a lost year they could resume trade talks.
“The 29-year-old is signed through 2028 but looms as a potential 2027 cap casualty,” wrote Knox. “The Cardinals could release him with a post-June 1 designation in the spring and save $18.1 million in cap space. It could make more sense to trade Sweat, who had 12 sacks last season, well ahead of 2027.”
Sweat has played under Gannon for two different teams, and the Packers could make it a third.
Green Bay Packers Could Trade for Josh Sweat
Sweat was a fourth-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2018 NFL Draft. He did not play much in his rookie season, but posted four sacks in his second NFL season. He added six sacks the next year.
Gannon stepped in as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator in 2021, and Sweat made the first Pro Bowl, posting 7.5 sacks. He had 11 sacks in 2022, and Gannon moved to head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2023. Sweat was not as productive in the next two seasons. Then, he joined Gannon and posted 12 sacks again.
Unfortunately, Gannon was fired one year into his new deal. Now, Sweat is on a defense that is not quite a fit for him, and he is playing on a team that he did not anticipate playing on.
Sweat has $23M cap hits for the next two years. The team control will be able to get the Cardinals a return that will make them want to answer calls. If the Cardinals can get a strong offer for Sweat, they will move on from him.
Packers Still Need Edge Rusher Help
The Packers’ defense has been the better of the two units through the first five weeks of the season. However, the unit is starting to suffer some injury issues.
Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Hargrave suffered season-ending Achilles injuries in back-to-back weeks. Right now, the team is expecting to use the next-man-up strategy.
They are going to get Micah Parsons back on one edge, but the team has not seen any of their other edge rushers step up into the right roles.
Barryn Sorrell has 156 snaps played, but just six pressures. Brenton Cox has 15 pressures, but has always been viewed as a depth option. Lukas Van Ness has taken a step forward, but the addition of Sweat could give the Packers a trio of strong edge rushers. They could also ease in the return of Parsons.
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