The Green Bay Packers appear primed to add a much-needed pass-rusher to a defense that will be without Micah Parsons for at least five games to begin the upcoming season.
Arizona Cardinals edge defender Josh Sweat has been on the physically unable to perform [PUP] list all offseason long, ever since his team fired former head coach Jonathan Gannon (Sweat’s defensive coordinator in Philadelphia and the Packers’ current DC, who they hired back in February).
However, Sweat was in full gear for the Packers-Cardinals joint practice on Wednesday, August 26, which prompted both speculation and predictions from NFL media members on social media.
“Submitted without comment,” ESPN’s Rob Demovsky captioned a photo of Sweat on the sidelines at Green Bay’s facilities on Wednesday.
“At this point, it seems like a matter of time before Josh Sweat is a Packer,” Aaron Leming of Windy City Gridiron wrote on a repost of Demovsky’s image.
Reunion Between Josh Sweat, Packers Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon Makes Sense
GettyPass-rusher Josh Sweat of the Arizona Cardinals.
Sweat joined the Cardinals ahead of the 2025 campaign, in part to reunite with Gannon. He put up a career-best 12 sacks last season, but Arizona finished tied for the worst record in the league and parted ways with its former head coach.
At that point, Sweat began pushing for a trade out of the NFC West Division, which was the best in the NFL last year and could easily be again this season.
Harrison Graham of “Bears Now” recently noted the “mysterious” knee injury that sidelined Sweat all offseason until joint practices with the Packers this week.
“I think there’s a great chance that they’re just gonna activate him on PUP pretty soon, and he’s gonna get traded,” Graham said August 21. “Now whether that’s gonna be to the Chicago Bears, to the Packers — where Jonathan Gannon also is, I think they would be interested — or another contender, I think he ends up getting moved.”
Josh Sweat Likely to Cost Packers 3rd-Round Pick in Stacked 2027 NFL Draft
GettyEdge defender Josh Sweat of the Arizona Cardinals.
Sweat, a one-time Pro Bowler (2021) and Super Bowl champion, has three seasons remaining on his four-year, $76.4 million contract. He will play the upcoming campaign at 29 years old.
The consensus trade value for Sweat given his age, contract and production level is in the range of a third-round draft pick.
Green Bay owns its third-round selection in 2027, but still has to pay the second half of its bill for Parsons next year. The Packers sent the Dallas Cowboys two first-round picks, and Dallas subsequently traded that 2027 first to the Eagles.
Green Bay would be moving on from a potentially valuable player it could draft somewhere presumably later in Round 3 in a draft stacked with young talent next year by dealing that selection for Sweat.
That said, Sweat has been healthy and productive for the last five seasons and is probably still somewhere in the backend of his prime. The Packers have a win-now team that has been to the playoffs the last three years in a row, but also have a huge roster gap off the edge after Parsons’ injury and trading Rashan Gary to Dallas over the offseason.
Given the circumstances, it is hard to argue that Sweat wouldn’t be more valuable to the Packers over the next three campaigns (the length of his remaining contract) than a third-round rookie would be to Green Bay’s success in 2027 and 2028.
Packers Predicted to Trade for $76.4 Million Pass-Rusher in Micah Parsons’ Absence