Josh Sweat Leads Cardinals With 12 Sacks, Then Skips OTAs
josh sweat led the Arizona Cardinals with 12 sacks in 2025, then skipped early OTAs as minicamps approached. His absence was not injury-related, and it comes as reports say he is not particularly happy in Arizona.
Sweat’s 12-sack season
Sweat is 29 years old and will turn 30 next spring. He reached double-digit sacks in two of his eight pro seasons, and his 2025 total stood out even more because it came on a Cardinals defense that needed edge production.
He has 55 sacks over his last five seasons. That track record, plus the production he just posted, is why his situation has moved beyond a normal spring absence and into roster-watch territory.
Cardinals cap math
Josh Sweat has three years left on a four-year, $76.4 million contract. If Arizona trades him after June 1, the team could save $10.9 million, but it would take on a $31.8 million dead-cap hit. A move before June 1 would cost an additional $5.6 million in 2026 cap space.
That contract structure gives the Cardinals a financial decision as well as a football one. Sweat is still one of the few edge rushers on the roster with proven production, but the price of moving him would not be light.
Bears and edge interest
The Chicago Bears are one obvious fit if Arizona listens. Chicago won the NFC North despite producing just 35 sacks as a unit, and the Bears have done little to upgrade their pass rush this offseason. They still need a high-end complement to Montez Sweat on the edge.
Arizona is likely to start the bidding at the same third-round price that the Philadelphia Eagles paid for a half-season of Jaelan Phillips, with a conditional 2027 fourth-round pick that could become a third-rounder based on statistical thresholds also floated as trade value. The market can move quickly for pass rushers, and Josh Sweat’s early OTA absence only adds fuel to a possibility that already has cap consequences for Arizona and need-based interest elsewhere.
