The Arizona Cardinals are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season. To make things even worse, one of the team’s best players, edge rusher Josh Sweat, didn’t show up for OTAs. He led the team in sacks in 2025 with 12 and had his best season in the NFL. The absence isn’t injury-related, and there have been reports that Sweat isn’t “particularly happy” in Arizona.

Things were much different when Sweat signed with the Cardinals in the 2025 offseason. Jonathan Gannon was the head coach, and the team was coming off an 8-9 season, hoping to make a jump. Clearly, the jump didn’t happen in 2025, and Gannon was fired.

The absence of Sweat doesn’t guarantee he wants out, but if the Cardinals wanted to move on from Sweat, there would be interest. He has three years left on his four-year, $76.4 million contract. Arizona saves $10.9 million by trading him after June 1, but they’d eat a $31.8 million dead cap hit. It’d take a decent return for the Cardinals to eat that dead money, and these four teams should easily make the call.

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears needed to improve the pass rush this offseason and didn’t. The team ranked 27th in the NFL in pressure rate. Montez Sweat, quite frankly, carried the load of the pass rush for Chicago last season, and desperately needs a partner in crime.

Chicago was in on Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby, and could look to trade for Sweat, who will be significantly cheaper. If the Bears want to stay atop the NFC North from last season, they’re gonna need more than 35 sacks to get it done. Sweat can make that happen.

Green Bay Packers

One of the main reasons Sweat went to Arizona in the first place was that Gannon was the head coach. Well, Gannon is now the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers. Star edge-rusher Micah Parsons is recovering from his torn ACL, meaning he won’t be 100 percent at the start of the season. Edge rusher Lukas Van Ness took steps last season, but he isn’t capable of being a team’s main edge rusher.

Green Bay could explore options to get Sweat in the building to line up opposite Parsons when he returns. The Packers are in the same boat as the Bears, finishing with 36 total sacks in 2025. If the Packers want to jump the Bears and take control of the NFC North, they’ll need more pass rush.

Detriot Lions

It’s funny listing basically every NFC North team, but they all could use Sweat. The Detroit Lions are no different, despite finishing fourth in total sacks with 49. Detroit has a star pass-rusher in Aidan Hutchinson, but hasn’t been able to find a pass rusher to line up opposite him. The team just drafted Derrick Moore in the second round of the 2026 NFL draft to solve this issue, but Sweat is a proven player in the league.

Sweat gives Detroit two edge rushers who can generate consistent pressure. It’ll give the team a boost and help them get back to the postseason in 2026.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals have had a tremendous offseason and have added serious talent to the defensive side of the ball. Cincinnati lost star pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson to the Baltimore Ravens in free agency, but gained Boye Mafe, Dexter Lawrence, and drafted Cashius Howell.

In reality, the Bengals don’t need Sweat, having Mafe, Howell, Myles Murphy, and Shemar Stewart. But this is a team in the AFC North, and a team that’s missed the postseason for the past two seasons. They need all the help they can get, and the reality is that Murphy led this team with 5.5 sacks a year ago. Sweat brings immediate impact on the edge and will help raise the Beganls sack total from 35 last season.