The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of two straight losses, games in which they had given up an aggregate 48 points while scoring only 27. They also surrendered 704 total yards across the losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos.
Now, a new trade pitch aimed at the Chiefs could solve their defensive issues even if it means surrendering a powerful hitter and a rising phenom on the board.
The trade pitch would send Josh Sweat from the Arizona Cardinals to the Kansas City Chiefs for a third-round draft pick in 2027.
With the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaching, Kansas City must decide whether Sweat solves the edge-rushing problem that has bothered the Chiefs all season.
The Chiefs (5-2) fell 28-24 to the Broncos on Sunday in Denver, their second loss in a row, and now trail Denver (6-2) in the AFC West. Kansas City opened 5-0, then controlled much of Sunday’s game before faltering late.
The Cardinals are expected to make Sweat readily available before the deadline, according to SI‘s Donnie Druin, with a reported asking price of a second-round pick.
Josh Sweat’s Career and Kansas City Chiefs Fit
Sweat, 29, starred at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, until a gruesome knee injury as a senior threatened his career. At Florida State, he posted solid tackle and sack production in three seasons. The Philadelphia Eagles drafted him in the fourth round, 130th overall, in 2018.
Philadelphia turned him into a steady rusher and a Super Bowl champion, with between six and 11 sacks in each of his final five seasons there. In Super Bowl LIX, Sweat sacked Patrick Mahomes 2.5 times in a 40-22 Eagles win over the Chiefs.
He signed a four-year, $76.4 million deal with Arizona in March 2025 and delivered 12 sacks in 17 games that season, plus 13 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.
This season began slowly, with zero sacks in the first three weeks. He has since produced three sacks over a four-game stretch.
Kansas City, meanwhile, ranked second-worst in sacks across the league during its unbeaten start. Sweat gives George Karlaftis and Chris Jones another proven pass rusher to share the load, and he arrives with a Super Bowl ring.
Josh Sweat Trade Price for Kansas City Chiefs
“Sweat to Dallas makes a lot of sense to me,” an NFC executive told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, as quoted by Bleacher Report‘s Julia Stumbaugh. Fowler also named the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers as fits, though the Bears have since traded two future first-round picks for Jeffery Simmons.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones has called an outside addition to the defense unlikely, while leaving room for a deal if one materializes. Sweat has 16 tackles and four quarterback hits through seven games.
Arizona’s reported ask of a second-round pick sits one round above the third-rounder proposed in the new trade pitch. Several factors, however, make Sweat a valuable trade asset.
Sweat turns 30 next year and has no guaranteed money on the final two years of his contract. He requested a trade after Jonathan Gannon’s firing, and he wants a new deal despite being signed through 2028.
His $9.78 million base salary this season comes with no guarantees beyond 2026, limiting the Chiefs’ long-term exposure.
One hypothetical framework has the Chiefs sending 2027 third- and sixth-round picks to Arizona. A lone third-round pick would land below that package and below the Cardinals’ stated ask.
Whether a third-round pick closes the deal depends on Arizona moving off its second-round ask before Nov. 10. For Kansas City, the cost is one draft pick and one season of salary against a defense still searching for sacks.
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