The Green Bay Packers are in need of someone who can be an impactful pass rusher that raises the floor of their collective unit while game-wrecker Micah Parsons recovers from an injury sustained near the end of last season. With the Arizona Cardinals going nowhere fast, pass rusher Josh Sweat has popped up as a possible trade target quite often.
Not only is Sweat coming off the best season of his career, but he could be reunited with his old Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon, who replaced Jeff Hafley as the Packers' defensive coordinator. A deal being struck between these two parties would make sense for everyone involved, but some recent buzz from top insiders has all but squashed that trade momentum.
Ian Rapoport confirmed that Arizona is not going to trade Sweat, which put out weeks of fires rampaging on social media. Sweat could have boosted the Packers' pass rush due to his familiarity with Gannon, but it looks like the Cardinals aren't going to torch all of their available assets just yet.
Packers won't be trading for Cardinals pass rusher Josh Sweat
Part of the reason Sweat left a champion Philadelphia Eagles team to join a rebuilding Cardinals squad was his connection with Gannon, who served as defensive coordinator in Philly years ago. Sweat did record a career-best 12 sacks, but that didn't help Arizona make noise in the standings.
Sweat would have immediately been the best pass rusher on the team until Parsons comes back. Green Bay might have been able to acquire him for cheap due to his hefty contractual obligations. There were so many factors at play that would have made this trade advantageous for Green Bay, but no deal is materializing.
The Packers will instead move forward with a slapdash collection of role players and youngsters that need to take a step forward. Parsons will help paper over the cracks when healthy, but Sweat could have given them some added security as they try to make the playoffs in a very difficult NFC North.
Sweat might be in Arizona for the beginning of the 2026 season, but if they start off the year poorly and want to get some extra picks at the trade deadline, perhaps the Packers can get Monti Ossenfort on the horn and once again try to reunite the Florida State stud with Gannon. Wouldn't that be better than riding the Lukas Ven Ness roller coaster again?
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