As the NFL’s legal tampering window approaches this afternoon, the Philadelphia Eagles are widely expected to lose a pair of breakout performers on defense from last year’s Super Bowl run.
Among the teams expected to be in on Philly’s top free agents, especially EDGE Josh Sweat and DT Milton Williams, is the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Jonathan Gannon has been building a tough and physical defense in Arizona, and as the former defensive coordinator of the Eagles, his Cardinals are a logical landing spot for some of his former players now in the prime of their careers.
The Cardinals’ pass rush ranked 31st in the NFL by PFF’s grading metrics in 2024, and Matt Johnson of Sportsnaut predicts the team will address that problem by poaching Sweat from Philadelphia this week. Here was his take on the potential splash signing:
The Arizona Cardinals have money to spend and a glaring need for an edge rusher. Josh Sweat already has a Super Bowl ring and has experience playing for Jonathan Gannon. Sweat isn’t an ideal No. 1 pass rusher on a playoff-caliber team, but his performance in the Super Bowl showed that he can take over games. Adding that caliber of a disruptor to the Cardinals’ front seven will allow Gannon to have far more success with an Arizona unit that had limited talent to speak of in 2024.
Sweat has been a dependable player for the Eagles throughout his seven years with the team, but to Johnson’s point, he’s never played over 900 snaps in a season. In what’s looking like a down year in terms of high-end talent in free agency across the board, it’s possible teams overextend for Sweat’s services. His bloated market is why the Eagles are not expected to bring him back on another multi-year deal.
With close to $77 million in projected salary cap space, the Cardinals could justify paying Sweat in the range of $18 million to $20 million per year, which is where he’s projected to land on the open market. The transition to Gannon’s defense would be seamless, and the Cardinals are a couple pieces away from drastically improving on that side of the ball in 2025.
Sweat should have a healthy amount of suitors, but few destinations make more sense than Arizona.
RELATED NFL NEWS: