The absence of quarterback Jacoby Briossett from the Arizona Cardinals offseason work has garnered most of the headlines for the last two months.
Now, edge rusher Josh Sweat has also become a big part of the same conversation, as he has been away from the offseason program and after speculation that the Cardinals are listening to offers from teams about a potential trade.
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One of the rumored teams, not surprisingly, is the Green Bay Packers, who now employ former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon as their defensive coordinator. Gannon was a major reason Sweat signed with the Cardinals in 2025 because he was the Philadelphia Eagles‘ defensive coordinator for two of the seven seasons (2021 and 2022) Sweat was with the Eagles.
Notable is that Sweat’s best sack numbers were the 11.0 he had in Philadelphia in 2022 and the 12.0 he had last season. Those 23 sacks account for 41.8 percent of his career total of 55.0.
He played only 47 percent of the snaps, missing some because of injury, after playing 63 percent in 2024 and 71 percent in 2023.
It’s also true that, despite last season’s sack total, Sweat rarely made big plays in the fourth quarter and he turned 29 in late March. Also important is that the four-year, $76.4 million contract he signed had all of the fully guaranteed money ($38 million) in the first two years.
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That included an $18.5 million signing bonus prorated over five years because of a void year in the deal, $2.5 million base salary in 2025, $9.78 million this year and a $7.22 million option bonus due on March 20 this year. Another $3 million of his 2027 base salary was guaranteed for injury only at the time of signing.
It’s not known publicly whether Sweat asked to be traded at some point in the offseason, or if the Cardinals are truly exploring a deal.
When head coach Mike LaFleur was asked Wednesday if he’s concerned about Sweat not being on the field for OTAs, he said, “It’s not. No.”
He also gave a strange answer when then asked if the team is open to trade him if there are offers.
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LaFleur said, “I don’t even read into the offers. I don’t look at … I’m just excited by the fact that I don’t have to game-plan against this guy. I got to know him when I first got this job. He’s a good dude. He goes about his process, and he’s not the first guy to go about his process the way he is in terms of how he’s training and all that.
“I’ve been around a lot of really good football players that have done this. But, like I said, I’m just happy I don’t have to game-plan against him.”
Perhaps answering by saying the word “offers” was a slip. Or perhaps there have been offers.
It’s clearly important to see what another team might be willing to trade for Sweat, especially considering his contract. Draft-choice compensation often hinges on the money a new team would be taking on.
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The intriguing question about this year’s option bonus is whether the Cardinals paid that, or if there was an agreement by both parties (if Sweat was seeking a deal) to delay the payment.
Coupled with the base salary of $9.78 million this year, he will be paid $17 million in 2026. He currently counts $16.835 million against the Cardinals’ salary cap, which includes a max per-game active roster bonus of $1 million ($58,823 per game).
Why would the Cardinals pay it if there was chance he would be traded? It would be considered buying a better draft choice. Of course, the flip side is that the Cardinals would then be responsible for that bonus on their cap.
If the Cardinals paid the bonus and Sweat were traded after June 1, the dead money on the cap would be $5.5 million this year and $16.5 million in 2027.
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If he is traded and the new team assumes the option bonus, the Cardinals’ dead money this year would be $3.7 million and $11.1 million in 2027.
If Sweat is on the Cardinals roster in 2027, is he worth $17 million in salary with a $23.6 million cap hit?
That’s surely what they are likely assessing with the offseason work ending June 10 after a three-day mandatory minicamp.
A minicamp, by the way, that if Sweat and Brissett continue to stay way would cost each of them nearly $105,000 in fines.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Might the Cardinals trade Josh Sweat? Some advice: Don’t Sweat it out
