Josh Sweat

Cardinals To Sign Josh Sweat

March 10th, 2025 at 2:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

The top edge rusher on the market has not needed to wait long to find a destination. Josh Sweat has reached a deal with the Cardinals, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

This will be a four-year, $76.4MM deal, Schefter adds. Sweat will collect $41MM guaranteed. Coming off a strong 2024 regular and postseason with the Eagles, he will be counted on to add a considerable boost along the edge in Arizona.

One of the top free agents entering the week, Sweat will parlay a dominant Super Bowl LIX performance into a nice third contract. The Cardinals will reunite the seven-year Eagles EDGE with Jonathan Gannon, Sweat’s DC for two seasons in Philly. The Eagles have now lost both Sweat and Milton Williams. Especially since the Super Bowl champs re-signed Zack Baun, these defections are not unexpected.

Sweat’s contract looks similar to Shaquil Barrett‘s after his Super Bowl rampage. The Buccaneers had agreed to a four-year, $72MM deal to bring back Barrett, who had pressured Patrick Mahomes throughout a Super Bowl LV blowout. Sweat did not do as well, but he also does not have a sack title on his resume like Barrett did. Still, Sweat did well to rebound after taking a pay cut to stay with the Eagles last year.

Carrying only one double-digit sack season on his resume (11 in 2022), Sweat still led a championship-winning Eagles team in sacks (eight) before registering 2.5 more against the Chiefs. Sweat pushing Kansas City LT Joe Thuney into Mahomes, forcing a Baun second-quarter interception, rounded out a banner night for a player who hit free agency at just 27. Sweat did well to only sign a three-year contract (worth $40MM) in 2021, keeping him squarely in his prime to cash in as the cap exploded. The cap has gone up by an astonishing $97MM since Sweat’s last contract.

The Cardinals re-signed Baron Browning just before free agency but will slide the ex-Bronco to the sidekick role upon landing Sweat. Stepping into Gannon’s system should bring familiarity, as Sweat’s best season came under Gannon. Sweat’s 11 sacks helped Philly threaten the 1984 Bears’ single-season sack record, and he became the player retained last year — ahead of a Haason Reddick separation. The Eagles still have Nolan Smith rostered, but Myles Garrett rumors turned out to be irrelevant after the latter’s record-smashing Browns extension.

Philly may need to add a piece to its edge rush, as little experience exists after Smith. A Cardinals team that has not effectively rebounded after the exists of Chandler Jones, J.J. Watt and Zach Allen acquired a proven pass rusher. More work remains on Arizona’s defensive line, but Sweat represents a building block in Gannon’s third season.

Josh Sweat Expected To Depart In Free Agency; Eagles On Radar For Myles Garrett

February 25th, 2025 at 11:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

Andrew Berry is not budging on his early-offseason Myles Garrett stances. The Browns are set against trading the future Hall of Fame pass rusher.

Reaffirming that at the Combine, the sixth-year GM said (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter) the Browns are “not interested in moving him.” Other teams continue to circle, with the Browns having received calls on a player who has made it clear he wants out. Cleveland is prepping a monster Garrett extension offer — during what should be an explosive offseason on the EDGE market — but it is unclear how much that would move the needle for the disgruntled All-Pro.

As teams look into this matter, execs around the league are connecting the Eagles as a team that will be pursuing a pass rusher. This loose Philly-Garrett tie comes as Josh Sweat nears free agency. It does not look like the reigning Super Bowl champions will re-sign the standout edge rusher, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler indicating (h/t iHeartRadio’s Victor Williams) expectations are pointing to a Sweat exit in free agency.

Sweat could hardly have done more to finalize his case as a top-tier free agency in the upcoming class, having hounded Patrick Mahomes throughout Super Bowl LIX. Exposing a Joe Thuney-at-LT plan that had been moderately effective for the Chiefs en route to the Super Bowl, Sweat collected 2.5 sacks and forced an interception when he drove the Kansas City LT into Mahomes late in the first half. Sweat, 27, finished the season with eight sacks and did well to reestablish his value after accepting a March 2024 pay cut.

Playing for $10MM last season, Sweat will be aiming much higher as a first-time free agent. The former fourth-round pick signed a three-year, $40MM extension with the Eagles in 2021. He became the team’s 2024 edge-rushing centerpiece, as Brandon Graham went down with a triceps tear and Bryce Huff — thus far, at least — proved unworthy of the three-year, $51.1MM deal. Although the Eagles have Nolan Smith set to play a lead role in next year’s pass rush, third-round rookie Jalyx Hunt may still be viewed as a backup.

This has connected execs to Garrett for Philly. Some around the league mentioned the Eagles as a landing spot previously, citing Berry’s past working for Howie Roseman. The Eagles, who added a third-round pick by unloading Haason Reddick last spring, have made splashy trades under Roseman. They moved a first-rounder to add A.J. Brown in 2022, parted with a second to acquire Ronald Darby in 2017. Roseman was in the Eagles’ front office (but not yet GM) when they dealt first-, fourth- and sixth-round picks to obtain Jason Peters from the Bills back in 2009. Peters and Brown proved worthy of the trade costs.

Teams are prepared to part with a first-round pick and change for Garrett, even though Berry has continued to come out against any trade. Garrett, 29, would also be eyeing a big-ticket extension. That would affect teams’ trade offers, but the Eagles have shown a willingness to be creative to help fit contracts onto their cap sheet in the recent past. It might take a while to pry Garrett from Cleveland, with the draft looming as the first notable deadline here. But the Eagles have been willing to wait on big trades in the past.

Eagles DE Josh Sweat Addresses Pending Free Agency

February 13th, 2025 at 2:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

Josh Sweat had a strong end to his 2024 season, posting 2.5 sacks in Super Bowl LIX. His attention will now turn to free agency, where he will have the option of remaining with the Eagles or joining a new team for the first time in his career.

Sweat racked up eight sacks during the regular season, the second-highest total of his seven-year career. Combined with his play on Sunday, the 27-year-old could therefore be in line for a notable payday on the open market. Sweat recently changed agents in preparation for his free agency.

One year ago, the former fourth-rounder’s Eagles future was uncertain. Short-term clarity emerged in the form of a restructured deal, though, which made 2025 a walk year and saw Sweat reduce his base salary. Given the guarantees present in the new pact, Philadelphia will be hit with a $16.39MM dead cap charge once it voids next week. That figure is separate from the cap charges which will be present from any new Eagles contract, something Sweat has not ruled out.

“Money’s important, sure, but I want to be in the right situation,” the Florida State product said (via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer). “I don’t know what it looks like for me now, but I’m happy.”

Sweat is one of the top options amongst pending free agent edge rushers considering his age and consistent production (at least six sacks in each of the past five years). The Eagles could look to keep him in the fold considering Brandon Graham is a strong candidate to retire and Milton Williams is also a pending free agent. Losing those two in addition to Sweat would leave the Eagles in need of finding multiple replacements along the defensive front.

Nolan Smith took on a starting role this season, and the 2023 first-rounder will be expected to be a key figure along the edge moving forward (especially given the poor return on investment seen from last year’s signing of Bryce Huff). It will be interesting to see if Sweat remains in the fold for the Eagles in 2025 and beyond or if free agency presents him with a strong fit elsewhere.

Eagles EDGE Josh Sweat Hires New Representation

February 5th, 2025 at 7:36pm CST by Ben Levine

While Josh Sweat is surely focused on this weekend’s Super Bowl, the impending free agent also made some notable moves behind the scenes. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the pass rusher changed representation earlier this week, hiring Drew Rosenhaus and Ryan Matha.

“It’s the biggest moment of my life,” Sweat told Zach Berman of PHLY. “That’s it, really. I just thought it was the best for me, and I wanted to be the most prepared I could be for it.”

A former fourth-round pick, this will mark Sweat’s third contract. With a year remaining on his rookie deal, the defensive end inked a three-year, $40MM extension with the Eagles in 2021. While Sweat hasn’t earned any accolades throughout his second contract, he’s still been a pass-rushing force for Philly, compiling 25.5 sacks across 49 games.

This past season, the 27-year-old collected eight sacks and 15 QB hits in 16 games (15 starts). Pro Football Focus ultimately graded Sweat 34th among 119 qualifying edge defenders in 2024, a step up from his 56th-place finish in 2023.

Sweat’s lack of track record limited his earnings during his last contract, but he could be set to cash in this offseason. Per OverTheCap.com, there are 20 edge rushers earning at least $15MM per year, including teammate Bryce Huff, who garnered a $17MM AAV last offseason. The 2025 campaign will represent Sweat’s age-28 season, so there will surely be a team willing to pay up for the veteran’s services during free agency.

Vikings Targeting DL, CB This Summer

June 30th, 2024 at 9:02pm CST by Ely Allen

In a recent mailbag Q&A, Alec Lewis of The Athletic noted two positions that are likely to be subject to additions this summer and in free agency next year for the Vikings: defensive tackle and cornerback. While there were some attempts to address each position already this offseason, there is likely much more work to be done in Minnesota.

On the defensive line, Minnesota is running it back with Harrison Phillips and Jonathan Bullard as two of their starters in a three-man front. Unfortunately, neither really stood out as strong players at their position with Lewis noting specifically that Phillips and Bullard ranked as two of the worst interior pass rushers in the NFL last year. Last year’s fifth-round rookie Jaquelin Roy could potentially take the next step after playing in an extremely minor role last season.

The team did make two free agent additions, signing Jerry Tillery and Jonah Williams back in March. Tillery had a bit of a resurgent season last year in Las Vegas after falling out of favor with the Chargers. Williams saw his first full-time starting role for the Rams last year, starting all but one game in 2023. This provides a bevy of options as the Vikings plan their rotation on the defensive line. It’s hard to say just how much of an improvement this will be; it will really depend on who steps up this summer to grab starting positions.

That being said, all four of Phillips, Bullard, Tillery, and Williams have expiring contracts after this season. Lewis notes that this will make the position just as much of a position-of-focus next year in free agency, as well. While one or a few of the above names may prove to be worth re-signing, Lewis already pegs veteran division-rival Kenny Clark as a target free agent next spring. He tabs Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and Eagles pass rusher Josh Sweat as potential targets, as well.

At cornerback, Byron Murphy and Akayleb Evans return as two starters while veteran Shaquill Griffin comes in as a new starter on the outside, allowing Murphy to play a bit more in the slot, if necessary. Evans has overperformed as a recent fourth-round pick, while his draft classmate Andrew Booth, a former second-rounder, has failed to establish himself in the rotation. There are no real stars in this position group, though Griffin has displayed the ability to be one of the better players at the position in past years.

Like on the defensive line, though, Murphy and Griffin will both be free agents next year, making cornerback a position of focus in 2025, as well. As for future targets at cornerback, Lewis likes Jets corner D.J. Reed and San Francisco’s Charvarius Ward.

None of the free agents Lewis suggests are necessarily stars at their position, and most are in their older years, but all would provide an improvement to what the Vikings currently have on the roster. There are still several months for Minnesota to continue addressing those positions, and there’s still every possibility that the current Vikings will step up and prove that they belong and are good enough to keep around beyond this year.

NFC Contract Details: Bucs, Mayfield, Eagles, Sweat, Parker, Rams, Garoppolo, Saints

April 3rd, 2024 at 5:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the details from some of the recently agreed-upon contracts around the NFC:

Baker Mayfield, QB (Buccaneers). Three years, $100MM. Of the $50MM in Mayfield guarantees, $40MM is fully guaranteed. The other $10MM will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the 2025 league year. Mayfield can also earn $5MM per year via incentives, Fox Sports’ Greg Auman notes. Half of those are stat-based incentives. If Mayfield finishes in the top 10 in the NFL (or top five in the NFC) in passer rating, TD passes, yards, yards per attempt or completion percentage in any of the three years, he would earn $500K per category, Auman adds. The other $2.5MM per year comes through playoff incentives. Mayfield would earn $500K for a Bucs wild-card win, $750K for a divisional-round conquest and $500K for an NFC championship game win. If the Bucs are to win a Super Bowl with Mayfield at the helm, he would collect another $750K.
Darious Williams, CB (Rams). Three years, $22.5MM. Only $7MM of Williams’ $15MM guarantee is locked in at signing, per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. This contract’s key date will come on Day 5 of the 2025 league year, when the remaining $8MM will shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee. Barring injury, this effectively makes 2024 a “prove it” year for the now-two-time Rams CB.
Josh Sweat, DE (Eagles). One year, $10MM. The Eagles’ Sweat rework will bring $9.5MM guaranteed for the veteran defensive end, per OverTheCap. Philly used four void years to spread out the cap hit, which sits at $8.1MM for 2024. If Sweat signs elsewhere before this contract’s March 2025 expiration, the Eagles will be tagged with $16.4MM in dead money.
Cedrick Wilson, WR (Saints). Two years, $5.75MM. The Saints are guaranteeing Wilson $2.85MM, ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell notes. The second-generation NFL wideout will be due a $200K roster bonus in 2025; none of Wilson’s ’25 salary ($2.7MM) is guaranteed.
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB (Rams). One year, $3.18MM. Previously reported as including $4.5MM in base value, the Rams’ Garoppolo contract (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe) contains $3.18MM in base pay.
Ben Bredeson, G (Buccaneers). One year, $3MM. Bredeson’s Bucs pact includes $1.75MM guaranteed, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweets.
DeVante Parker, WR (Eagles). One year, $1.21MM. The Patriots are paying most of Parker’s deal, with $3.19MM guaranteed remaining on his 2023 extension. The Eagles are not guaranteeing the former first-rounder anything, Volin tweets. The Pats will receive a $1.98MM cap credit if Parker plays the whole 2024 season.

Eagles To Retain DE Josh Sweat Via Restructured Deal

March 15th, 2024 at 12:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Both the Eagles’ top incumbent edge rushers landed on the trade block as of late. While Haason Reddick‘s status remains uncertain, Josh Sweat is staying in Philadelphia.

The Eagles and Sweat reached a restructured contract that will keep the young pass rusher in town, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report. Sweat will receive $10MM guaranteed in 2024, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who adds he can collect up to $13MM via incentives.

Bryce Huff is coming to Philly on a three-year, $51.1MM deal. The Eagles currently have three edge contracts in the same range on their books presently, though Reddick’s status will now need to be monitored. With Huff in place and Sweat agreeing to stay — after coming up in trade talks — Reddick could be on his way out. The Pro Bowler has outplayed the three-year, $45MM deal he signed with the Eagles in 2022. While Reddick has said he wants to stay with his hometown team, his status is up in the air.

No guaranteed money remained on Sweat’s three-year, $40MM extension, which he agreed to in 2021. The Eagles allowed both Reddick and Sweat to seek a trade and gauge their value. It is a bit surprising Sweat would come back at this rate, given where the cap went this month, but the Eagles would have also needed to view a trade as fair value. The team has determined Sweat will remain an asset this year, his age-27 season.

Sweat and Reddick went cold down the stretch, which became a sore spot for the team as its defense cratered. Vic Fangio is now running Philly’s defense, after serving as a consultant with the team in 2022, and he presumably wanted Huff as one of his starters. With Fangio in a minor role in 2022, Sweat put together his best season — an 11-sack slate — as the Eagles made a run at the 1984 Bears’ single-season sack record. Sweat has not totaled more than eight sacks in a season in any other year, and after a hot 2023 start, the former fourth-round pick went sackless over the season’s final two months. He did drop Baker Mayfield once in the Eagles’ wild-card loss, however.

With Nolan Smith likely set for more playing time, signs would seem to point to a Reddick exit. No known trade offers have emerged, but Huff, Sweat and Smith are now locked in — along with the recently re-signed Brandon Graham — for 2024. Huff can certainly use this season as a platform for a big-ticket free agency deal next year, with the cap rising at rates not seen during the previous CBA.

Eagles Taking Trade Calls On Josh Sweat

March 9th, 2024 at 9:44am CST by Ben Levine

We heard last month that the Eagles were allowing Haason Reddick to seek a trade, and the team is reportedly taking calls on another top pass rusher. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Eagles are “having trade calls on” defensive end Josh Sweat. Dianna Russini of The Athletic adds that the Eagles have been shopping both Sweat and Reddick for “the last few weeks.”

A former fourth-round pick, Sweat has emerged into one of the Eagles’ top edge rushers, compiling 31 sacks over the past four seasons. Following an 11-sack campaign in 2022, Sweat’s numbers took a bit of a step back in 2023, as the 26-year-old finished with 6.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus also seemed to recognize the drop in production; after ranking Sweat ninth among edge rushers in 2022, the site listed him 33rd for his 2023 performance.

Sweat is heading into the final season of a three-year, $40MM extension he signed with the Eagles back in 2021. While his $9MM cap number won’t break the bank in 2024, the team may be looking to prepare for his exit now. As Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out, it’s not an “either/or” when it comes to moving on from Sweat and Reddick, as the team would consider dealing both players in the right moves. Further, McLane notes that the organization hasn’t been happy with the duo’s recent production, especially in the second half of last season.

As NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah points out, moving on from Sweat (and, potentially, Reddick) would surely put the Eagles in the market for a pass rusher. Russini points to one potential free agent target: Bryce Huff. The former UDFA had a breakout season for the Jets in 2023, finishing with 10 sacks despite appearing in fewer than 50 percent of his team’s defensive snaps. Thanks to that performance, Pro Football Focus gave Huff a top-10 grade for his pass-rushing ability.

Clearing up the depth chart would also open a spot for Nolan Smith, the team’s first-round pick in 2023. Smith struggled to carve out a role as a rookie. While he got into all 17 games, he was limited to 18 tackles and one sack while playing the majority of his snaps on special teams. As James Palmer of NFL Network points out, Smith underwent “a maintenance procedure on his shoulder” this offseason that should prepare him for a larger workload in 2024. Further, Palmer notes that the Eagles “feel good about the trajectory” of the first-round pick’s development, an indication that Smith could be eyeing more responsibility in his sophomore season.

Latest On Eagles DE Josh Sweat

January 4th, 2023 at 9:29pm CST by Ben Levine

Despite a scary incident last weekend that saw Josh Sweat transported to the hospital with a neck injury, the Eagles defensive end may not miss much time. During the “Inside The Birds” podcast, Adam Caplan said the defensive end could be back for Philly’s first playoff game.

“What we have heard is that the first playoff game is absolutely in play as of now,” Caplan said (via InsideTheBirds.com). “He’s just super sore. They’ll know in a series of days how he really feels. Everything checked out well.”

Naturally, coach Nick Sirianni was quick to note that the Eagles will operate with caution when it comes to Sweat’s return to the field. However, Sweat himself already added some optimism regarding his return when he tweeted that he’ll “be back this season.”

“We’ll take Josh one day at a time,” Sirianni said (via the team’s website). “I’m just really thankful that it wasn’t more serious there and I know everybody in that stadium was holding their breath because anytime that stretcher comes out, that’s tough to deal with. Josh was saying, ‘Hey, let me get up. I can get up.’ The doctors in that scenario have to make sure they go through all the right scenarios. I felt a little more at ease because of what Josh was saying out there.”

Sweat was carted off the field during the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to New Orleans following a headfirst collision into Saints fullback Adam Prentice. Sweat was on the ground for several minutes before being positioned onto a stretcher and carted off the field. He was later transported to the hospital before being released on Sunday, with the team reporting that Sweat had movement in all of his extremities.

The 25-year-old is less than one calendar year removed from a life-threatening medical condition which emerged during the postseason and forced him to miss Philadelphia’s first-round matchup with Tampa Bay. He’s returned to have a career year for the Eagles, collecting career-highs in sacks (11), QB hits (23), and TFLs (15).

Eagles DE Josh Sweat Suffers Neck Injury

January 1st, 2023 at 4:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Eagles once again failed to lock up the top spot in the NFC today, and they are facing injury questions with another key player. Defensive end Josh Sweat was unavailable for much of the contest against the Saints due to a neck injury which required him to be taken to hospital.

Sweat suffered the injury while making a tackle on New Orleans fullback Adam Prentice, but was motionless on the field immediately after the play and for several minutes afterward. ESPN’s Tim McManus notes that Sweat was carted off the field and taken to hospital as a result of the injury. Not long after he arrived, a team announcement indicated that he had movement in all of his extremities.

The hospital evaluation was deemed precautionary, the Eagles also stated. Per the latest update, he will be released later tonight, an encouraging sign for Sweat. The 25-year-old is less than one calendar year removed from a life-threatening medical condition which emerged during the postseason and forced him to miss Philadelphia’s first-round matchup with Tampa Bay.

Sweat managed one sack before having to exit the loss to the Saints, and the Eagles totaled seven on the day. Philadelphia led the league in that department entering Week 17, in no small part due to the former fourth-rounder’s contributions. He had posted a career-high 11 sacks before today, which saw him record at least one for the sixth consecutive game. Sweat has also set new personal marks in tackles for loss (15) and quarterback hits (23).

That continues to represent a sold return on investment for the Eagles, given the three-year extension they signed him to last fall. The Florida State alum was named a Pro Bowler for the first time in 2021, and has once again been a full-time starter on the edge after operating in a rotational role for his first three seasons in the league. Philadelphia would sorely miss his production if he were to miss next week’s regular season finale (a game which, given this afternoon’s events, still has meaning for the NFC leaders) or any playoff action. Further updates will be worth watching for given his importance to the Eagles as they prepare for a potential Super Bowl run.

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