Over the last two months, the Philadelphia Eagles have been attached to trade rumors to bring back a familar face to the defense, but they might have dodged a bullet there.
Most NFL teams don't start training camp until next week, but a few are getting a head start, like the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals started camp with some bad news, including placing former Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat on the PUP list.
“The Paris (Johnson) thing, that is honestly nothing,” Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said via the Cardinals' website. “It’s really just maintenance. He’ll be back before you know it. Same thing with Josh (Sweat). Seeing him, he’s fired up to be here. He’s in great spirits and feeling good.”
Eagles rumors with Josh Sweat might be a good thing they didn't make a trade
Some thought the Eagles would call the Cardinals to try to get Sweat back for a reasonable price. Last offseason, Sweat signed a four-year, $76 million contract with Arizona after spending the first seven years with the Eagles.
Philly selected Sweat in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft and slowly became one of their top pass rushers. His best season came in 2022 when he racked up 11 sacks with the Eagles, but he made his only Pro Bowl the previous year. In 2024, he led the Eagles in sacks with eight, but his 2.5 sacks during their Super Bowl run in the playoffs helped him land a massive deal with the Cardinals.
He earned every dollar on his new contract, setting a career high in sacks with 12 and adding 17 quarterback hits last season. This offseason, there were reports that he was unhappy in Arizona and wanted to be traded after former Cardinals head coach and Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was fired.
That's how the Eagles became involved in the rumors, but it sounds like it will just be rumors for now. It's the best thing for Philly, as they don't have to deal with Sweat again.
One, his contract is way too much to take on right now, especially with them dealing with the dead cap situation with Brown and also having already given edge rusher Jonathan Greenard $100 million for the next four years. Plus, even though Sweat's injury doesn't sound too serious, that is going to be a lingering problem in the back of their minds all season.
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Philly is solid at edge rusher with Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith already there, with Greenard. Sweat coming back would be a cool story, but the Eagles are better off letting him hang out in Arizona and recover from his injury in 2026.
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