In this story:

Arizona Cardinals News

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t waste any time during the first day of free agent legal tampering as they signed EDGE rusher Josh Sweat to a four-year deal, $76.4 million contract with $41 million guaranteed.

A legitimate pass rusher was one of the Cardinals’ biggest needs, and Sweat has averaged eight sacks over his past four seasons. He was largely considered the best EDGE available in free agency despite 2024 not being the best year of his career. ESPN analyst Seth Walder recognized Sweat’s minor decline last season, but isn’t panicking.

“Sweat is coming off what was, in some ways, a down season for him,” Walder wrote. “From 2021 to 2023, Sweat recorded a well-above-average 21% pass rush win rate at edge and recorded 27.5 sacks in that span, postseason included. In 2024, his win rate at edge dropped to 11%, though he had 10.5 sacks, including the postseason.”

Walder gave Sweat props for having a huge performance in Super Bowl LIX, but remains a tad concerned over the lack of explosiveness he displayed overall in 2024.

“He had a huge Super Bowl (2.5 sacks) and could have been the Super Bowl MVP,” Walder said. “And part of what he showed in the Super Bowl — pushing the pocket to put Patrick Mahomes under duress (as opposed to going around a blocker) — doesn’t always show up perfectly in the win rates. Sweat’s pass rush get-off (time to cross the line of scrimmage) was much slower this season, slowing from 0.73 seconds in 2023 to 0.85 seconds, per NFL Next Gen Stats. That might not sound like a big change, but it is.”

However, Walder still feels that Sweat was a worthy signing for Arizona based off the market value of his contract, especially if he can return to his form of a couple year ago.

“Because of the numbers above, I was prepared to be somewhat critical of a Sweat signing,” Walder stated. “But the edge market has been much cheaper than I anticipated, and this isn’t that much money when we compare it to past deals. After adjusting for cap inflation, Smith’s $19.1 million APY value is roughly equivalent to Frank Clark’s deal with the Chiefs in 2022 or Romeo Okwara’s contract with the Lions in 2021. That seems fine, and there’s some upside for the Cardinals. If he goes back to winning at the level he did prior to 2024 — or keeps playing like he did in the Super Bowl — then this signing is a bargain.”

Still just 27-years-old, Sweat slowing down shouldn’t be much of a concern. Combine that with the fact that he is reuniting Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon (who was Sweat’s former defensive coordinator in Philadelphia), Sweat will fit right in along Arizona’s defensive line. In Gannon’s last season with the Eagles, Sweat recorded 48 total tackles, 11. sacks, 27 quarterback pressures, one forced fumble, and one interception.