Josh Sweat Suits Up Against the Giants as His Contract Push Heats Up

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Josh Sweat is suiting up. The Arizona Cardinals' edge rusher is officially active for Sunday's Week 4 game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium — hours after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sunday NFL Countdown that Sweat is seeking a new contract, a declaration that instantly turned him into one of the league's names to watch ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline.

What Schefter said Sunday morning

"Josh Sweat is a name we have continually heard about," Schefter said on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, per the Arizona Republic. "He is seeking a new contract. ... That is a player that will be of interest to a lot of teams as we get closer to the November 10 trade deadline."

Sweat was among five players Schefter listed as potential trade candidates, according to Arizona Sports — and notably, Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was on that same list. It is the most direct national-reporting confirmation yet of a storyline that has hovered over Sweat since the offseason, when reports first surfaced that he was seeking a trade.

Active — but not exactly healthy

Whatever business Sweat wants to conduct off the field, he will be on it Sunday. The Cardinals' final inactive list did not include him: quarterback Carson Beck, cornerback Starling Thomas V, safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, linebacker Cameron Robertson, offensive lineman Josh Fryar and wide receiver Reggie Virgil are sitting out, per Arizona Sports.

But Sweat is far from a lock-in. He was a late addition to the injury report this week with a groin issue, practiced in limited fashion Friday and carried a questionable designation into the weekend, the Republic reported. Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. MST at MetLife Stadium, and the Cardinals will be watching closely to see how the groin holds up when the pads start popping.

The slow start nobody expected

The contract push is arriving at a strange moment in Sweat's season. He is coming off a career year — 12 sacks and a 13.3% pressure rate in his debut season in the desert, per the Republic — but through three games of the 2026 campaign, he has zero sacks. Arizona Sports counted just three pressures on his 55 pass rushes this year, and the Republic put his pressure rate at 5.1%.

That kind of production does not match the $16.4 million cap hit he carries this year, as Arizona Sports noted from OverTheCap's figures. Only safety Budda Baker has a bigger cap hit on the roster at $19.2 million. And it is a team-wide problem: the Cardinals' defense ranks near the bottom of the league in sacks and pressures through three games, per Sports Illustrated.

There may be an opportunity to get right Sunday. Per Arizona Sports' mailbag, the Giants have faced the 12th-highest pressure rate in the NFL at 38.1%, with seven of those 37 pressures resulting in sacks — and quarterback Jameis Winston is the kind of gunslinger who invites the rush. If the 12-sack version of Sweat is in there somewhere, this is the week to find him.

The contract math — and why he wants more

Sweat signed a four-year, $76.4 million deal with the Cardinals in March 2025, per Pro Football Rumors. The pass-rush market has exploded since then: his $19.1 million average annual value now ranks just 23rd among edge rushers, and it is significantly less than half of Will Anderson's record-setting $50 million-per-year agreement, per PFR.

The structure is the real leverage point. The largest cap hits come in 2027 and 2028 — $23.6 million in each season, per the Republic — but none of the money Sweat is due beyond this season is guaranteed, according to Arizona Sports and PFR. So although he is just over a year into a four-year pact, he will turn 30 in March with no long-term security — the classic recipe for a contract push.

An offseason full of smoke

This did not come out of nowhere. Sweat did not participate in the Cardinals' voluntary offseason activities, and he was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list ahead of training camp, the Republic reported. At the time, head coach Mike LaFleur said Sweat was dealing with a knee injury — but after general manager Monti Ossenfort revealed in a radio appearance that Sweat had undergone an offseason "procedure," Sweat said the procedure was not to his knee. He offered no further details. Sports Illustrated described it as a confirmed "minor procedure," with the specifics still unknown.

Trade chatter has swirled through the desert all summer. TSN reported that Sweat at one point requested a trade; multiple reports of outside interest surfaced after the Cardinals fired head coach Jonathan Gannon early in the offseason. Ossenfort pushed back publicly during training camp: "We have no interest in trading Josh. We're excited to have him," he told reporters, per Sports Illustrated.

Not everyone is convinced it ends well in Arizona. Howard Balzer of CardsWire believes the current season will be Sweat's last with the Cardinals regardless of whether he is moved before the deadline, and he is skeptical that Arizona — or any other club — will be willing to give Sweat a raise, per Pro Football Rumors.

What the deadline watch looks like

Nov. 10 is more than a month away, and a lot can change — including Sweat's production. As Pro Football Rumors noted, the league-wide thirst for pass-rushing help and Sweat's team-friendly contract would aid Ossenfort in any trade negotiation; the counterweight is that Sweat's desire for a new deal may make him less appealing to a team that would have to pay him twice.

For now, the Cardinals have the player, and they have him on the field today. Arizona needs pressure on Winston and a breakout game from its highest-paid pass rusher — the contract conversation can wait until the flight home. Check the Previously NFL Week 4 Sunday guide for the full slate, and the sports desk for live updates through the afternoon.