The Arizona Cardinals traded quarterback Jacoby Brissett to the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday, and they shouldn't stop there. With the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaching, Arizona needs to move edge rusher Josh Sweat with more urgency.
Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort may have gotten them into this position in the first place, but to his credit, this season he's at least cut his losses and acquired future draft capital. The Houston Texans sent a package headlined by a second-round pick for Marvin Harrison Jr., while it remains to be seen what Arizona will receive from Baltimore for Brissett.
Now it's time for Ossenfort to move on to the defensive side of the ball, where Sweat is the most likely and logical trade candidate.
Cardinals need to get ahead of Josh Sweat's new deal
Sweat has no guaranteed money next season and will be seeking a new contract. Arizona shouldn't want to deal with that, especially when he doesn't fit the rebuilding timeline at 29.
He's previously requested a trade when the Cardinals moved on from head coach Jonathan Gannon. Sweat has since survived endless trade rumors, with Ossenfort even saying that the Cardinals weren't trading him heading into the season.
However, with the 3-5 Cardinals predictably off to a slow start, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported on X that Sweat is believed to be open to a trade.
"Sources: The belief around the NFL is that #Cardinals DE Josh Sweat would be open to a trade, as he has been dating back to the offseason, and it's up to Arizona whether it ultimately decides to deal him. Multiple teams would have interest in Sweat, but the asking price is believed to be high. Arizona has given the impression they're fine keeping him."
Cardinals should consider lowering asking price on Sweat
It remains to be seen whether the Cardinals are giving that impression to maintain leverage in trade negotiations or if they actually are fine holding onto Sweat. Time will tell, as we're now less than a week away from the deadline. But the Cardinals should seriously consider lowering their asking price as we get closer.
They already have one of the worst defenses in the league; how much is losing Sweat going to hurt?
The best move at this point is to reset, turning veterans like Sweat and potentially even safety Budda Baker into future assets, depending on the market. It's far easier to see the Cardinals trading Sweat than Baker, simply because Baker is a franchise icon and leader for this defense.
Plus, Sweat's new deal gives Arizona more reason to feel urgency to trade him. That new deal on the horizon isn't ideal for his trade value, but at this point the Cardinals need to be putting this rebuild in the right direction, and that means flipping veterans like Sweat for as much as they can get.
At least multiple teams are expected to be interested, so hopefully that drives up the bidding. But with Brissett now headed to Baltimore, Ossenfort needs to turn his attention to moving veterans on defense, most notably Sweat.
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