Ossenfort: Cardinals not looking to trade Josh Sweat as he works his way off PUP list
Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort said he's not concerned with Josh Sweat's extended stint on the PUP list and isn't looking to move the pass rusher.
Watch: Did Josh Sweat request a trade? Cardinals front office responds | 7 mins
GLENDALE — In what sounded originally like a short stint on the physically unable to perform list — similar to what we saw with offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. — Arizona Cardinals pass rusher Josh Sweat remains on the shelf with training camp breaking Tuesday.
Even with the extended week of work, the pass rusher has been nowhere to be found when it comes to getting on the grass.
For all the talk about Sweat doing his own thing away from the team, it gets odder by the day.
General manager Monti Ossenfort, however, isn’t concerned about the pass rusher’s current status.
“Josh is making good progress. Josh is getting closer every day,” Ossenfort said Monday. “I think Josh is going to be out there in due time to get ready for the season opener, and we’re excited to get him out there and get him going.”
Ossenfort also doesn’t seem too concerned about Sweat’s status with the team, despite offseason rumors that the pass rusher requested a trade with Arizona moving in a new direction at head coach.
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“There’s always a lot of talk that goes around that,” Ossenfort said when asked for clarity on whether Sweat requested a trade. “We have no interest in trading Josh.
“We’re excited to have him. Some of those discussions I’m going to keep private but excited to have Josh here. He had a good year last year. Excited for more good things this year.”
That doesn’t sound like “no.”
Ossenfort’s comments fit in line with earlier reporting that Arizona had no interest in moving the premium pass rusher.
Still, until Sweat is back in the mix, and potentially puts the trade talks to bed at least for awhile, his absence is going to continue to be a point of emphasis.
Because if he’s not on the field come Week 1, whether it be due to health or he actually does land elsewhere, Arizona’s defense is going to have a hard time coming close to replicating the impact he has off the edge.
And it’s hard to replace 12 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 17 QB hits regardless of who is on the roster.
Instead of Sweat leading the charge, it’ll be a group of pass rushers who didn’t have more than two sacks and six tackles for loss individually last year.
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Comments
2 Comments
Why do I feel he will miraculously heal by Sept 13th. This is nothing more than not wanting to play in preseason or training camp. Unfortunately we need him still because our front Defensive 7 is bad. Darius has been extremely disappointing and Walter Nolen looks like real deal but seems he cant go 20 snaaps with out being hurt? I do think if WN3 is healthy he will be a star.
Where there is smoke, there's always fire! Since Sweat was with the Eagles, continuing with his time with the Cardinals, I've never been a fan. I feel like I really learned ton about Sweat in the Winter of 2025, by reading a column by a Philadelphia area writer who did some research when Sweat held out when he was with the Eagles where the best the Eagles were offering was 65% of what Sweat wanted. That reported found that Sweat was living off the efforts of Jalen Carter and was lucky enough to collect scraps. Of the sacks Sweat was responsible, only 20% were because Sweat beat his defender. Instead, the large majority came when Carter and Company blew up the opposing OLine. That reporter also questioned Sweat's motor, talked about how he took over half of plays off (mostly running plays). The Eagles said "No Thanks" but because Sweat & his Agent had the ear of HC Jonathan Gannon, the Cardinals gave Sweat a 4 yr, 76.4 Million contract, with no one bidding against them.
This year when I first read about Sweat possibly holding out, I replicated the Philly reporters study, and came to the exact same conclusion, especially with him turning 30 next year..
It appears that Walter Nolen and Darius Robinson are ready to take the Cardinals defense to another level, adopting a program of diet and exercise laid out by Calais Campbell that emphasizes everyone on the Front 7, especially the big bodies, being able to run to the football for 60 minutes. Word was that DT Kaleb Proctor, who was a early standout before he got injured, also had bought into what Calais was selling.
Green Bay is offering their 2nd Rounder. Other teams with poorer records might give up more. Josh Sweat's best days are behind him. Send him packing in favor of someone who is better against the run.