Schatz: Trading Josh Sweat a final offseason move Cardinals should make

The Arizona Cardinals are reportedly not trading pass rusher Josh Sweat. But should they?

ESPN’s Aaron Schatz believes dealing the pass rusher is the final offseason move Arizona should make when looking where each NFL team stands ahead of training camp next month.

Sweat was connected to former coach Jonathan Gannon after playing for him in Philadelphia, but the Cardinals fired Gannon in January. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have almost no chance of contending this season given the quality of their three division rivals and the questions they have at quarterback. But they have a chance to turn a player who had 12 sacks last season into a significant 2027 draft pick. A Sweat trade would help any number of playoff contenders.

Sweat is coming off a career year, highlighted by those 12 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 47 total pressures. The rest of Arizona’s outside linebackers room lagged severely behind.

Moving on from Sweat, who did participate during Arizona’s mandatory minicamp, would likely bring back a solid return. But for a team whose owner, Michael Bidwill, talked about a quick turnaround following the firing of Jonathan Gannon, that path seems very counterproductive.

With Sweat off the roster, Baron Browning would be the top sack getter in the outside linebackers room last year with two sacks. Collins would have led the way in tackles for loss with six. The dropoff in production is steep, with no new additions to the room.

Trading Sweat would make a defensive turnaround even harder for defensive coordinator Nick Rallis to accomplish.

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