Heading into 2026, the Arizona Cardinals indicated to teams that they aren't planning to trade linebacker Josh Sweat, who has survived countless trade rumors up until this point.
At 1-1, Arizona has no reason to change that stance. If anything, the Cardinals have exceeded their low (outside) expectations so far after pulling off Week 1's biggest upset over the Los Angeles Chargers. That's more of a reason to keep Sweat around, who remains a key part of what appears to be an improved Cardinals defense compared to last year's three-win team.
Still, as ESPN's Dan Graziano pointed out earlier in September, that stance on Sweat could change if the Cardinals find themselves out of the playoff conversation by the trade deadline.
"There certainly exists a world in which the Cardinals fall out of contention between now and the trade deadline," Graziano writes. "There have been several reports this offseason about Sweat being unhappy in Arizona and possibly wanting out. He has no guaranteed money in his contract beyond this season, and a team that hypothetically trades for him halfway through the season would have to pay him only about $5 million.
Josh Sweat trade talks could resurface if Cardinals' struggles continue
Though the Cardinals may have a rebuilding roster, they intend to at least compete weekly under new head coach Mike LaFleur. We've already seen that in their 1-1 start, even holding the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks to a 7-7 tie before falling apart in the second half.
Since Arizona plans on remaining competitive, they might as well keep Sweat... for now. They've already committed to him financially for this season with a $9.78 million base salary and a $7.22 million option bonus. However, the fact that the Cardinals are in the midst of a rebuild also suggests that this isn't quite the ideal fit with Sweat's timeline.
It's understandable to hold onto him in the short term, but Arizona needs to reconsider exploring trades if/when this season turns south. Unfortunately, seeing the strength of the Cardinals' schedule, that leans more toward when. And as Graziano notes, it's easy to see a scenario in which Sweat trade talks resurface as the deadline approaches:
"Arizona is going to continue to get calls. Though I believe the team doesn't want to trade him, I also know these things change. And if Arizona is out of it in late October and/or Sweat indicates he doesn't want to be there anymore, you'll hear his name ahead of the deadline."
It wouldn't be surprising if the Cardinals essentially have to trade Sweat if he becomes disgruntled during their potential midseason struggles. But even if Sweat appears content staying in the Valley, this could still be in Arizona's best interest to see what they can get on the trade market for him.
Week 2's blowout loss to the Seahawks served as a reality check on how far this up-and-coming Cardinals team still has to go in the NFC West. Flipping Sweat into future assets could be in their best interest if they want to keep playing the long game.
Add us as a preferred source on Google