As the days continue to tick by after the Philadelphia Eagles‘ dominant Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs on February 9 and the start of NFL free agency on March 12, the price for veteran free agent edge rusher Josh Sweat seems to just keep going up.
While it’s almost a given that Sweat is headed elsewhere for big money after his star turn in the Super Bowl win and arguably the best overall season of his career, it’s still shocking to see some of the numbers that have come rolling through.
Bleacher Report has Sweat projected to receive a 4-year, $82 million contract and has him labeled as the most important free agent target for the Arizona Cardinals and head coach Jonathan Gannon, who was Sweat’s defensive coordinator with the Eagles in 2021 and 2022.
Sweat played with the Eagles in 2024 on a 1-year, $10 million contract.
“The Arizona Cardinals have needed a high-end edge-rusher to anchor the pass rush for years,” Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport wrote on February 15. ” … this is a position that has dogged the Cardinals for a long time — long enough that finally addressing it with an excellent two-way edge in the prime of his career is worth writing that whopper of a check.”
The Cardinals are in a great place to land a player like Sweat with a projected $71.3 million in salary cap space. Gannon is also likely coaching for his job in 2025 after going 12-22 over his first 2 seasons. It’s a tenure that started when the Eagles found out the Cardinals had illegally tampered with Gannon and the 2 sides had been in contact in the week leading up to their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs following the 2022 season.
Eagles Bet on Huff, Sweat Bet on Himself in 2024
In the days following the Super Bowl win, Sweat’s market value leapt from a projected 3-year, $45 million contract to a 3-year, $56.4 million contract, according to Spotrac.
Just over one week later, the numbers on a potential Sweat deal had begun to expand to the 4-year, $82 million contract projected by Bleacher Report.
From Next Gen Stats: “Josh Sweat generated a team-high six pressures on 34 pass rushes in Super Bowl LIX, including a career-high 2.5 sacks. Sweat registered four of his six pressures on early downs including every one of his sacks.”
Before the 2024 season, the Eagles decided to give Sweat a 1-year contract and instead signed Bryce Huff, a free agent edge rusher, to a 3-year, $51.1 million contract in March 2024. Huff responded with the worst season of his career and Sweat responded with the best season of his career with 41 tackles, 8.0 sacks, 9 TFL and 15 QB hits on the NFL’s No. 1 defense.
Eagles Let Elite Edge Rusher Slip Through Hands
Pro Football Network currently has Sweat listed as the No. 3 overall NFL free agent available in 2025. If he does leave for another team, it will represent the rare missed opportunity for the Eagles to keep one of their homegrown talents in the fold — he’s been with the team for 7 seasons since they drafted him in the fourth round (No. 130 overall) in 2018 out of Florida State.
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