The Arizona Cardinals are excited about the addition of linebacker Josh Sweat. So are fans. He joined the Cardinals this offseason on a four-year, $76.4 million deal. He had 2.5 sacks in the Super Bowl and 25.5 over the last three regular seasons. When Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was his defensive coordinator in 2021-2022, Sweat was a Pro Bowler once and had a career-high 11 sacks in two seasons.
But not everyone loves the move. The Athletic's Mike Sando got some unfiltered takes from anonymous team executives about moves made around the league. Those mentioned about Sweat were quite tepid about his impact.
“Sweat has been a really good, solid, steady player, but they will have to manage his knee,” an exec said. “Is he going to practice every day? There is so much risk involved already. Why compound it?”
“Having that familiarity will help,” another exec said of the Sweat signing, “but do I think Sweat is a great player? No. He helps them but doesn’t move the needle a great deal.”
No one thinks that Sweat is one of the premier pass rushers in the league. Those players get paid $30 million a year or more.
But at the price, he is a massive upgrade over what they had, and he does more than just get sacks. He fits the locker room culture.
It wasn't a "move-the-needle" move. Adding Sweat was to make the team better. They are better with him and with the upgraded defensive line.
We will see whether or not his presence will make a difference on the results in 2025.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL execs not excited about Arizona Cardinals' addition of Josh Sweat