Josh Sweat is reportedly ready for a trade. The Arizona Cardinals are still rebuilding. The match is no longer working.
Sources told multiple outlets this week that Sweat wants out of Arizona. He signed there last offseason expecting the Cardinals to be on the way up. Instead, the team finished 6-11 and is in another transition year. Sweat does not want to spend his prime losing.
The Cardinals have to listen. Sweat is one of the best pass rushers in football. He had 10 sacks last year on a team that gave him almost no help. He is signed through 2028 on a deal that suddenly looks like one of the most movable contracts in the league.
A pass rusher at his level on a fair contract is the kind of asset that draws serious offers. Cleveland, the team that just dealt Myles Garrett, has reportedly made initial calls. So has Detroit. So has Buffalo. The 49ers, who spent first-round capital on a defensive lineman this offseason, are circling too.
The Cardinals’ front office has been clear that everything is on the table this summer. General manager Monti Ossenfort is not building for 2026. He is building for 2028 and 2029. That means moving veteran salary for picks and getting younger across the board.
Sweat’s contract works for trades. He has a manageable cap hit this year. The remaining years on the deal are team-friendly relative to the production. Acquiring teams would not have to renegotiate to make it work.
The Garrett trade reset the pass rusher market. Cleveland sent its star to the Rams for Jared Verse, a 2027 first, a 2028 second, and a 2029 third. That is the kind of haul Arizona could realistically chase if Sweat is the headliner.
The Cardinals have already moved one of their veteran linemen this offseason. Dalvin Tomlinson was dealt for a fourth-round pick in May. That signaled the direction the team is going. Sweat is the bigger fish.
For Sweat, the trade landscape is interesting. He could land with a contender. He could play with Aaron Donald’s former defensive coordinator on the Rams. He could line up next to Myles Garrett in Cleveland. He could go to Buffalo and chase a championship with Josh Allen.
The risk for Arizona is moving him too cheap. The market is still developing. Most contenders have not solved their cap situations yet. The Cardinals could wait until training camp, see who has an injury at the position, and trade Sweat to a team with real desperation.
That is the move. Hold the leverage. Make teams call you. Get a real return.
The Cardinals do not need Sweat to win games this year. They are not winning games this year. Trading him for two future first-round picks is the kind of accelerant that turns a rebuild into a reload.
If Arizona’s front office wants to know what it should do, the playbook is right there. Move the veteran. Get the picks. Trust the rebuild.
Josh Sweat wants out. The Cardinals should let him go. Both sides win.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
