Green Bay came up as a speculative fit for the Cardinals’ Josh Sweat when the outside linebacker garnered trade interest during the spring. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network emphatically shot down rumors centering on Sweat in early June, declaring on X that the Cardinals were not going to trade Sweat “to the Packers or anywhere.”
Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort has insisted he is not interested in dealing Sweat, who is a week away from beginning his second season with the team. Nevertheless, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst was asked about Sweat during a press conference earlier this week. Gutekunst denied ever discussing Sweat with the Cardinals, Rob Demovsky of ESPN relays.
“Somebody’s making stuff up,” he said.
It’s not a mystery why Green Bay is seen as a possible landing spot for Sweat, who has a strong connection to new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Sweat spent his first seven seasons in Philadelphia, where Gannon held the D-coordinator role from 2021-22. Over that two-year stretch, Sweat combined for 18.5 sacks and earned his lone Pro Bowl nod.
Gannon left the Eagles to take over as the Cardinals’ head coach in 2023, and Sweat reunited with him in the desert on a four-year, $76.4MM deal last season. Sweat racked up a career-high 12 sacks under Gannon and DC Nick Rallis in Year 1 of the contract, but the season was a train wreck for the Cardinals. After starting 2-0, they lost 14 of 15 en route to a league-worst 3-14 finish. Gannon lost his job as a result, though new head coach Mike LaFleur (brother of Packers HC Matt LaFleur) retained Rallis. As is the case with Gannon, Sweat knew Rallis from Philadelphia before he signed with Arizona. Rallis was the Eagles’ linebackers coach from 2021-22.
While Sweat is on track to continue playing for Rallis, it is likely teams teams will call the Cardinals about the 29-year-old edge defender in the run-up to the Nov. 10 trade deadline. By far the worst team in the loaded NFC West, the Cardinals may be willing to sell by then.
Whether the Packers inquire about Sweat and/or other pass rushers near the deadline will depend on how their current group fares. Superstar Micah Parsons is on the reserve/PUP list as he continues recovering from the ACL and meniscus tears he suffered last December. Parsons expects to miss at least five games, and if that ends up being the case, a Week 6 return on Oct. 18 would come three weeks before the deadline.
Parsons is among the league’s irreplaceable players, but Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox and fourth-round rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton will try to hold the fort until he comes back. If no one from that quartet steps up, Gutekunst may eye the trade market in the fall.