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These Josh Sweat trade proposals from the Packers, Chiefs and Patriots would make Arizona reconsider

Josh Sweat isn't on the market, until he's on the market. Here's what it will take to get the Cardinals to budge.
ByWynston Wilcox|
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Josh Sweat isn't on the market, until he's on the market. Here's what it will take to get the Cardinals to budge.
Josh Sweat isn't on the market, until he's on the market. Here's what it will take to get the Cardinals to budge. | Chris Coduto/GettyImages

The Arizona Cardinals have to see the writing on the wall. Josh Sweat, who’s not been active in any voluntary or involuntary workouts this offseason while he’s recovering from a knee injury. Though injuries are keeping him off the field, He’s probably not rushing to get back to the Cardinals either. Arizona is in the bottom of the NFL standings and based on how good the NFC West looks this year, I doubt they contend with the top teams this year either. 

Despite the gloomy feeling in Glendale, the Cardinals have remained stagnant on any moves involving Sweat. He’s coming off a career season. More than that, he’s a solid player that could yield a lot of attention leading into the NFL’s trade deadline. The Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots all have reason to be interested in him and it would take a lot, but would very much force Arizona to consider moving off of him. 

Green Bay Packers’ big swing for Josh Sweat would pay off

The Packers don’t really have a lot of tradeable assets, leaving them to once again deplete their draft capital to bolster their pass rush. While Josh Sweat isn’t nearly as expensive as Parsons is, the Packers will have to part ways with at least two draft picks in my opinion. The Cardinals have made it clear they don’t want to trade Sweat, meaning they’d need the right price to change their mind. I don’t think it would be wise for the Packers to trade away too many picks, let alone multiple in the top 100. 

They don’t need Sweat from the standpoint of having an elite pass rusher, they have that in Micah Parsons. What they need is someone that can produce at a high level. They don’t necessarily need to pay top dollar for that. Dani Dennis-Sutton has a lot of potential, but isn’t quite ready to carry the load while Parsons is out. Sweat can do that, but is far more expensive than someone like Kayvon Thibodeaux. Green Bay would have to decide how valuable Sweat will be to them. 

He’s going to cost if they want the Cardinals to budge, but would he be worth their asking price, knowing Parsons will be back healthy? 

Kansas City Chiefs fortify their defense with a drastic move

The Kansas City Chiefs have every reason to go all-in on this season, whatever that looks like to them. This feels very much like the last ride for Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and the Chiefs dynamic duo. That’s why the Chiefs fortify their defensive line with Sweat. George Karlaftis hasn’t quite lived up to what the Chiefs would hope for their top pass rusher so he becomes expendable as part of this deal. Is he the perfect replacement for Sweat? No, but he’s better than nothing. 

Also as part of this deal, the Chiefs have to part ways with a sixth-round pick in 2027. My thought here is that, as much as the Cardinals need draft capital, they can't simply think stockpiling draft picks is going to save them from their rebuild. They need players and Karlaftis could benefit from a new team. The Chiefs have already turned their attention to R Mason Thomas and now with Sweat as a possibility, there's no room for Karlaftis.

Karlaftis has just one season with 10 or more sacks and has been a steady contributor in the pass rush. He’s not the primary pass rusher on a team, but he’s still nice to have and once the Cardinals figure out their path forward in this rebuild, they’ll find their star EDGE rusher. For now, Karlaftis should suffice. 

New England gets the perfect asset to their greedy defense

New England is right in the middle of their championship window and if they learned anything from their Super Bowl 60 loss, it’s that they need a better defensive front. That’s exactly what Sweat gives them. Christian Gonzalez and this man-pressure defense Mike Vrabel has constructed is only productive when you have a pass rush that scares even the best of offensive lines. 

Harold Landry III and Dre’Mont Jones with the possibility of Gabe Jacas isn’t exactly terrifying. Add Sweat into the mix and now the Patriots look a little bit more dangerous. That said, adding Sweat means Jones could be on the chopping block. I don't think the Patriots will give up that much for Sweat, but if the Cardinals get greedy, Jones may become part of the deal and the Patriots could either take the draft pick back altogether or swap in a Day 3 pick.

Landry is a core piece of this defensive line and though Sweat gives them similar production to Landry, they’d probably prefer to keep Landry at this point. Jones, who had a career-high seven sacks in 2025, still has a lot of value and could give the Cardinals a solid veteran player to pair with their young defensive line. The Cardinals don’t necessarily need a lot of veterans, but it doesn’t hurt with how young this defense is. 

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