Dallas Cowboys A Team To Watch For Josh Sweat As Arizona Cardinals Visit AT&T Stadium

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys are a team to watch for Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Josh Sweat, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday morning, a few hours before the two teams meet at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff between Dallas (3-4) and Arizona (2-5) is set for noon CT on FOX, nine days before the NFL’s Nov. 10 trade deadline.

Arizona won 27-17 at AT&T Stadium on Monday Night Football last Nov. 3 for its fourth straight win over Dallas, a run that dates back to 2020. In that game, with Arizona leading 24-7, Sweat sacked Dak Prescott on a goal-to-go snap from the 6-yard line. The drive ended with a 26-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey.

“There is interest in Cardinals OLB Josh Sweat, per sources,” Schefter wrote. “A team to watch with Sweat is the Cowboys, who will get an up close look at him today, when Dallas hosts Arizona.”

On Oct. 26, Schefter brought up Dallas and Sweat during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, hours before the Cowboys played at Philadelphia. He said the Cowboys needed to win games before the deadline and that Sweat would make sense for Dallas if they did. The Cowboys won 38-21 that night at Lincoln Financial Field to snap a two-game losing streak.

Later that day, NFL insider Jordan Schultz named the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears as two other fits for Sweat. Dallas hosts San Francisco on Nov. 15, five days after the deadline.

Josh Sweat Is In The Second Season Of A Four-Year Deal With The Arizona Cardinals

Through seven games, Sweat has 16 tackles and 2 sacks. He went without a sack over Arizona’s first three games. Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports credited him with three over the next four. That count includes a strip sack of Matthew Stafford on a two-point try in Arizona’s Oct. 18 win over the Los Angeles Rams, and that play does not count as an official sack.

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Sweat out of Florida State in the fourth round in 2018, 130th overall. He spent seven seasons in Philadelphia and made the Pro Bowl after the 2021 season. In 2024, he led the Eagles with 8 sacks. In Super Bowl LIX, Sweat had 2.5 sacks in a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Arizona signed him to a four-year, $76.4 million contract with $41 million guaranteed in March 2025. The deal reunited Sweat with former Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon, who had been Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator for two of his seasons there. In his first year in Arizona, Sweat posted a career-high 12 sacks with 4 forced fumbles in 17 games. He has 57 career sacks in 128 regular-season games.

Arizona fired Gannon after the 2025 season, and Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur replaced him. This spring, Sweat stayed away from Arizona’s organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. On May 26, Schultz reported that the Cardinals had received trade calls on Sweat. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported June 3 that Arizona was not trading him.

Sweat opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list with a knee injury. During that stretch, Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said Sweat was making good progress and would be out there in time to get ready for the Sept. 13 opener.

“There’s always a lot of talk that goes around that,” Ossenfort said. “We have no interest in trading Josh.”

Arizona activated Sweat on Aug. 24. The Cardinals are 2-5 after a 30-16 loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 25. Sweat’s contract carries cap hits of $23.6 million in both 2027 and 2028. Arizona Sports reported Sunday that the deal includes an out after this season with minimal dead money.

Dallas Cowboys Have Already Traded For Rashan Gary And Joey Porter Jr.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker spent 2024 and 2025 with the Eagles as their passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach. Sweat’s final season in Philadelphia was 2024.

In March, Dallas traded a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Green Bay Packers for edge rusher Rashan Gary, who had worked with Parker in Green Bay. The Cowboys used one of their two 2026 first-round picks on Malachi Lawrence. Lawrence joined an edge group that includes 2025 second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku.

On Sept. 29, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones spoke on his Tuesday radio show, two days after a Week 3 loss in Rio de Janeiro dropped Dallas to 1-2. The Cowboys had allowed 27.3 points per game through those three games.

“I’d just say we’re right on top of it,” Jones said.

The next night, the Cowboys agreed to send a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Porter had not played this season because of a contract standoff in Pittsburgh.

On Nov. 8, Dallas plays at the Indianapolis Colts at noon CT, two days before the deadline. Arizona visits the Seattle Seahawks that same day.