Schefter's Sunday Trade Buzz: Sweat Wants a New Deal, Pollard a Name to Watch

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The NFL trade deadline doesn’t arrive until November 10, but the rumor machine doesn’t wait for November. Sunday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter walked onto Sunday NFL Countdown and started naming names — and two of them landed like dropped ice on a bar top: Josh Sweat, the Cardinals pass rusher who wants a new contract, and Tony Pollard, the Titans running back who “fits the profile.” Five weeks to the deadline. This is when it starts getting loud.

The Sweat file: he wants a new deal

Let’s start with what was actually said. Schefter’s exact words, as reported by the Arizona Republic, were: “Josh Sweat is a name we have continually heard about. 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.”

That’s a report about a contract desire, not a trade demand. Big difference — and if you’ve watched October rumor season for any number of years, you already know how often that difference gets lost in the retelling by the third podcast of the week.

Here’s the contract math, per the Arizona Republic: Sweat is in the second season of a four-year, $76.4 million deal, and the biggest cap hits are still ahead of him — $23.6 million each season in 2027 and 2028. That structure is exactly why this matters now. A pass rusher entering the expensive half of his deal, on a team whose season could tilt either way, asking for new money? That’s how trade conversations start, even when nobody’s admitted to having one.

The offseason was noisy, too. Sweat didn’t participate in voluntary offseason activities, then landed on the Physically Unable to Perform list ahead of training camp. Head coach Mike LaFleur said he was dealing with a knee injury; GM Monti Ossenfort later revealed on a radio appearance that Sweat had undergone an offseason “procedure.” Sweat, for his part, said the procedure was not to his knee — and gave no further details. Reports earlier in the offseason said Sweat was seeking a trade. So the contract unrest isn’t new. It’s been simmering since spring.

And then there’s the production. After 12 sacks and a 13.3% pressure rate last season, Sweat has zero sacks and a 5.1% pressure rate through three games in 2026. You know what that does to leverage? It hands it to the other side of the table.

Look, here’s the kicker for right now: Sweat was a late addition to this week’s injury report with a groin injury and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s Cardinals at Giants game at MetLife Stadium. A contract story attached to a player who might not even suit up — that’s the kind of detail that keeps GMs on the phone instead of reaching for the pen.

Pollard fits the profile — and that’s all it is right now

The Tennessean’s reporting on Schefter’s segment tells the Pollard story in one line: the Titans back is a “player to watch” among trade targets before the November 10 deadline, and he “fits the profile” given the Titans’ slow start and his contract.

Fit the profile. Not “available.” Not “being shopped.” Profile.

But it’s an easy profile to see. Pollard, 29, has rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of the last four seasons, including the last two in Tennessee. He’s in the final year of a three-year deal he signed in 2024 to replace Derrick Henry — base salary $6.74 million this year, with $510,000 in roster bonuses across the season, per Spotrac. Expiring contract, productive veteran, winless team? That’s the exact formula contenders call about every October.

Through three games in 2026, Pollard has 195 scrimmage yards, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt, per ProFootballRumors — and the Titans are 0-3, per NBC Sports. This isn’t unfamiliar territory, either: Pollard drew interest before last year’s deadline too, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, via Athlon. The league has been circling this name for a while.

Does an 0-3 team that’s supposed to be evaluating young talent keep an expiring 29-year-old back through the deadline? That’s the question Tennessee has five weeks to answer — starting with Sunday’s Titans at Ravens trip to Baltimore.

Names, not deals — the fine print matters

Here’s where I do the part you don’t always get from rumor-season content: I pump the brakes.

Sweat is not formally on the trade block. The reported fact is that he’s seeking a new contract, and Schefter expects interest as the deadline nears. Pollard has not requested a trade. Schefter only said he “fits the profile.” These are the sentences the whole segment rests on, and anything built on top of them without attribution is a guess wearing a report’s clothes.

Why the discipline? Because the jump from “seeking a new contract” to “available for a second-round pick” happens in one screenshot, and then it’s your group chat’s problem. The Cardinals haven’t said they’re listening. The Titans haven’t said they’re calling. Until somebody with authority in either building confirms otherwise, these are two names on a Sunday morning segment — nothing more, nothing less.

That said? The names didn’t come from nowhere. “We have continually heard about” is insider language for months of background chatter. The machinery around both players is real. It’s just not a deal yet.

The rest of the board

Schefter didn’t stop at two names. Per NFLTradeRumors.co’s recap of the Countdown segment, he also floated Chargers outside linebacker Khalil Mack as a potential midseason mover — keep it to that, because that’s the reported fact and nothing more.

And the market runs deeper. Via NFLTradeRumors.co, attributing the reporting of The Athletic’s Jonathan Jones, here are other veterans teams are tracking: Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith — whose defense just got lit up in Cleveland on Thursday night — Commanders DT Daron Payne, Colts DT Grover Stewart, Giants OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Browns WR Jerry Jeudy. That list tells you where the October market is: edge rushers and interior disruptors first, pass catchers if the price is right.

Notice what all of those names have in common. Contenders hunt pass rush. Rebuilding or sliding teams hold the inventory. The only question every year is how many sellers actually show up to the market — and five weeks out, most front offices are still doing the math. For the full picture of where Thursday’s Steelers-Browns brawl left the AFC North, start there; the fallout from that one is still rippling.

The verdict

Look, this is the part that’s mine — opinion, not report. The reported stuff lives above; this is what my 20 years of watching October tells me.

Sweat’s contract noise is leverage, not a farewell tour. A 12-sack edge rusher who suddenly has zero sacks and a groin knock isn’t the asset you move at peak value — and Arizona knows that. The real story here is whether the Cardinals extend him before the 2027 cap hits arrive, not whether some contender rents him for half a season. If the price comes down? Sure, the phones light up. But don’t hold your breath.

Pollard is the name GMs actually write down. Expiring money, proven production, a winless team with no reason to cling to a 29-year-old back — that’s the deal that gets done in the week before November 10 while everyone’s arguing about the big splash that never comes. I’ll take the under on Sweat moving and the over on Pollard being discussed by every contender with a backfield injury.

So what did Schefter actually tell us? Two names, one deadline, five weeks of runway — and a market that’s just starting to wake up. Verdict: expect noise, not fireworks. The Sweat contract story is about next spring. The Pollard conversation is about next month. Know the difference, and October is a lot more fun to watch.