The Jacksonville Jaguars are off to a hot start, and sitting at 4-1, it would make sense for them to be buyers at the trade deadline. Even though the team has two starting edge rushers, they could put the defense over the top by trading for Josh Sweat of the Arizona Cardinals, according to Carlos Sanchez of Black & Teal.
“The Jaguars could also use help at defensive end,” wrote Sanchez. While Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker do a solid job of creating pressure, they don’t sack the quarterback nearly as much as some of the best tandems in the NFL. To take some pressure off their shoulders, Jacksonville could bring in a No. 3 to round out the rotation. Josh Sweat could be an enticing option.”
Sweat is signed through the 2028 season, but his contract gets team-friendly after this season. The Jaguars could add him for their playoff push and then decide whether to keep him for 2027 on a team-option type of structure.
Jacksonville Jaguars Could Trade for Josh Sweat at Trade Deadline
Josh Sweat went to Florida State, so he would end up coming back to the state if the Jaguars were to trade for him. The former fourth round pick for the Philadelphia Eagles is now nine years into the NFL, and he has made a Pro Bowl in his NFL career.
Sweat had no sacks in his rookie season, but recorded four sacks in 2019. He improved to six sacks and then 7.5 sacks the following year. He had his best year in 2022. The Eagles made the Super Bowl and Sweat recorded 11 sacks.
After 6.5 sacks in 2023, Sweat had eight sacks in 2024. The Eagles won the Super Bowl and Sweat left the team after. He joined former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon with the Arizona Cardinals.
He jumped back to 12 sacks, showing that he has been best with Gannon. However, Gannon was fired after one year, and now Sweat is on a defense that does not quite fit his skill set.
Jaguars Could Add Edge Rusher Help
Travon Walker is hit or miss as a pass rusher. He had 3.5 sacks in his rookie season and 3.5 sacks in his fourth NFL season. Then in his second season he had 10 sacks and in his third NFL season, he posted 10.5 sacks.
He already has two sacks this year, so things are trending well. Josh Hines-Allen hit 17.5 sacks in 2023. However, he has 16 sacks in the two seasons combined since then. He has only 1.5 sacks this season. The biggest issue is that the Jags do not have a quality rusher behind those two.
Dennis Gardeck is third amongst rushers and has nine pressures on 104 snaps. Danny Striggow is next and has just 68 snaps. They could use depth.
Jaguars Urged to Trade for 12-Sack Star Pass Rusher