Chiefs Expect Rashee Rice To Be Ready For Training Camp
Rashee Rice‘s distraction-filled Chiefs tenure now includes a historically unusual situation where a team’s top wide receiver is attempting to rehab from surgery while in prison. Rice underwent a knee procedure before learning he violated his probation and would need to serve a 30-day jail sentence in Dallas immediately.
The normal recovery time for Rice’s surgery — to remove loose debris stemming from a September 2024 injury — was around two months, but it can be assumed the receiver’s prison stay will complicate his recovery. Nevertheless, Andy Reid said (via ESPN.com’s Nate Taylor) Rice is expected to be ready by the time Chiefs training camp begins.
Kansas City’s camp schedule has not surfaced yet, but veterans typically report in late July. Padded practices begin a few days later. Reid’s comment on the situation points to Rice not needing a stay on the active/PUP list, which is a training camp-only designation. It certainly represents good news for a Chiefs team that continues to see high-profile players run into off-field trouble.
The Rice news preceded a rumor connecting Stefon Diggs to the Chiefs. Even before word of Rice’s probation violation emerged, the Chiefs were tied to being in the receiver market. An A.J. Brown pursuit is not expected, but a host of veteran options are available in free agency. In addition to Diggs, the FA market houses Tyreek Hill, Deebo Samuel, Keenan Allen, Tyler Lockett and ex-Chief DeAndre Hopkins — the team’s 2024 Rice replacement.
Hill, 32, certainly represents the most interesting name here. But the likely Hall of Famer may be on teams’ back burners for multiple reasons. Hill is still recovering from his severe knee injury, and that effort may not conclude by Week 1, and the six-year Chief is again the subject of an NFL investigation into alleged domestic violence.
The Chiefs extended Hill on a team-friendly deal after the NFL cleared him from a 2019 domestic violence investigation, but a Rice payday is not expected soon. Kansas City has seen the 2023 second-round pick struggle to stay on the field, through injuries and a suspension, and it is possible this probation violation could bring another ban. That will be a storyline to follow, and more pressure stands to be on former first-round pick Xavier Worthy entering his third season.
“We’re aware of the situation, and we’ve talked to the league,” Reid said, via Taylor. “There’s been no talk about anything further [regarding NFL punishment). We’re moving forward. When he gets back, we’ve got to get him caught up and doing what he needs to do. It’s not an easy thing he’s going through. Life lessons are important, but we’re all given chances to learn. He’s in that position now.”
Worthy headlines the Chiefs’ collection of healthy WRs, a group that includes the recently re-signed Tyquan Thornton. The Chiefs also have recent Day 3 draftees Jalen Royals and Cyrus Allen, but if Rice is suspended again, Reid’s squad will likely need more help to open the season. Marquise Brown left after two underwhelming seasons, joining the Eagles on a one-year, $5MM deal.
A future in which Rice rebounds and becomes a viable franchise tag candidate in 2027 exists, but that may be the best-case scenario for the SMU product given his unreliability thus far. But the Chiefs expecting him to be ready for camp is certainly a positive development as superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes works his way back from ACL and LCL tears.
Von Miller Lobbies For Broncos Return; Veteran’s FA Market ‘Quiet’
Before Von Miller committed to the Commanders last year, he reached out to the Broncos to gauge interest. His initial NFL team did not make an offer, and Denver’s defense proceeded to lead the NFL in sacks. Miller, however, bounced back with a productive year in Washington and intends to play a 16th season.
The future Hall of Fame pass rusher tallied a Commanders-high nine sacks; no other Washington defender eclipsed six during a 5-12 season. Miller notched his most sacks and QB hits (15) in a season since respectively registering 9.5 and 17 in 2021, a campaign in which the Broncos traded him to the Rams at the deadline. The Rams rallied for a Super Bowl LVI win that year, with Miller playing a key role, while the Broncos added current sack ace Nik Bonitto with one of the picks from the Miller haul.
Miller, 37, expressed interest in rejoining the Broncos earlier this offseason. He recently revealed he has lobbied the team for a reunion. The Broncos have Bonitto and sidekick Jonathon Cooper tied to long-term extensions, and Miller — who received offers from the Commanders and Seahawks last year — is open to coming back as an auxiliary rusher.
“I lobbied, I do lobby, I lobbied publicly, privately, so I lobbied,” Miller said, via ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold. “I think there’s no question the type of environment I bring to a locker room, I think there’s no question to the type of environment I bring to a team.
“… I would love to bring back those Super Bowl 50 vibes, love to assist, to be the vice president to Bo Nix, to Courtland Sutton. I’ve been the guy and also I’ve been the vice president. … I would love to contribute to us getting back to the glory land, to holding up that trophy. I would love to come back home and do that for the organization that has given me so much.”
Pass rushers in Miller’s class have reunited with their original teams in the past. Julius Peppers rejoined the Panthers in 2017, playing his age-37 and age-38 seasons with the club that drafted him, while Jason Taylor had three stints with the Dolphins. Calais Campbell‘s lengthy post-prime period brought a reunion with the Cardinals, and he is now back with the Ravens. Peppers and Taylor respectively sit fourth and seventh on the all-time sack list. Miller is ninth, with his Commanders season running his career total to 138.5. Miller is one behind Taylor and three behind Michael Strahan, who sits sixth in NFL history in official sacks.
Although Miller helped the Rams to their second Super Bowl title and showed flashes with the Bills — a team he is also interested in rejoining — he will certainly be best remembered for his 11-season Broncos tenure. The former No. 2 overall pick is the Broncos’ all-time sack leader, and he landed on the 2010s’ All-Decade team. Miller anchored Denver’s pass rush for most of his career, teaming with Elvis Dumervil, DeMarcus Ware and Bradley Chubb. All eight of the Super Bowl 50 MVP’s Pro Bowl nods came with the Broncos.
Nearly five years after Miller’s Denver departure, the team is well stocked at edge rusher. Bonitto is tied to a $26.5MM-per-year extension, while Cooper is at $13MM AAV. The team has Jonah Elliss, Dondrea Tillman and Que Robinson as auxiliary options. Elliss, however, is working part-time at inside linebacker — where his two NFL-playing brothers are stationed elsewhere — and Denver did not add an EDGE in the draft. But Elliss’ move is aimed at clearing a path for Robinson, a 2025 fourth-round pick who played sparingly as a rookie.
The Broncos have also moved Drew Sanders back to an OLB role, according to The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider. Sanders has struggled with injuries since being a 2023 third-round pick and has shuffled between ILB and OLB in his career.
It is rather interesting the Broncos are trying Sanders back on the edge while giving Elliss a look inside, but both players offer potential depth at each linebacker spot. That protects the Broncos, even if a Miller return would conceivably help in the sack department after the 2025 team (68 sacks ) made a run at the 1984 Bears’ single-season record (72).
While Miller has described his market as “quiet,” he said (via Legwold) he is intent on playing in 2026. It will be interesting to see where the four-team veteran ends up. He joins Cameron Jordan, Joey Bosa, Haason Reddick and former teammate Leonard Floyd among available 30-something edge rushers.
Jets Sign WR Tim Patrick
MAY 28: Patrick’s one-year deal has a base value of $2MM, per Spotrac (via Cimini). Half of that figure is guaranteed, including a $500K signing bonus. A depth role can be expected provided Patrick can remain healthy on his latest team.
MAY 13: Tim Patrick has rebounded from back-to-back injury-marred seasons that closed his Broncos tenure, and he is now reuniting with a former Denver front office staffer in New York.
Darren Mougey will add the veteran wide receiver to the Jets’ roster, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports. Patrick’s Lions season (2024) also is rather relevant to this signing, as Jets HC Aaron Glenn was in place as Detroit’s DC at that point.
This transaction will give Patrick a chance to play a 10th NFL season. Patrick, 32, caught on with the Broncos as a 2018 waiver claim. Mougey was in place under then-GM John Elway at the time. Mougey moved up the ladder to director of player personnel during George Paton‘s first GM year (2021). That year brought a Patrick extension (three years, $30MM). While the 6-foot-4 wide receiver did not live up to that deal due to the above-referenced injuries, he has provided contributions to other teams over the past two seasons.
The Broncos released Patrick shortly before the 2024 season, leading him to the Lions’ practice squad. That quickly preceded a move up to Detroit’s 53-man roster, and the possession receiver caught 33 passes for 394 yards and three touchdowns to help a dominant Lions offense secure a No. 1 seed. The Lions re-signed Patrick in 2025 but traded him to the Jaguars last summer, acquiring a 2026 sixth-round pick in the deal. Patrick caught 15 passes for 187 yards and three TDs last season.
Perhaps more importantly for Patrick’s NFL viability as his mid-30s near, he played in 16 games in each of the past two seasons. The Broncos saw Patrick become an important target during their time in quarterback purgatory, but their blockbuster Russell Wilson trade did not include any game time with Patrick. The former $10MM-per-year player suffered a torn ACL during training camp in 2022 and went down with an Achilles tear in July 2023.
While it would be quite interesting to see Wilson and Patrick finally link up — should the potential TV analyst accept a Jets offer — the veteran pass catcher did his best work with Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock. The Utah product caught 51 passes for 742 yards and six touchdowns in 2020. He then worked with Bridgewater and Lock in 2021, hauling in 53 passes for 734 yards and five scores that season.
The Broncos had placed a second-round RFA tender on Patrick in 2021 before signing him to an extension. Denver extended Patrick and Sutton in November 2021 but saw the former drift off the radar as the latter moved back into the WR1 role with the franchise. The Broncos slashed Patrick’s 2024 salary down toward the veteran minimum and attempted to trade him later that year. He played for $2.5MM in 2025.
The Jets have done extensive WR work since assembling a flawed crew around Garrett Wilson last year. Last year’s squad, with Wilson going down seven games in, became the first Jets edition since 1976 to fail to produce a 400-yard pass catcher. However, Gang Green acquired Adonai Mitchell from the Colts at the trade deadline and traded up to No. 30 (via the 49ers) for Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. last month. Patrick will be positioned to represent a veteran presence to complement those rookie-deal cogs around Wilson.
Bills Sign LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles
A part-time starter for the Giants and 49ers over the past two seasons, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles found a new home Wednesday. The Bills signed the veteran linebacker to a one-year deal.
The former San Francisco UDFA joins a Buffalo team that has not re-signed Matt Milano or Shaq Thompson. To make room on their 90-man offseason roster, the Bills waived wide receiver Max Tomczak. The nephew of former NFL QB Mike Tomczak, Max joined the Bills as a UDFA this month.
[RELATED: Bills Sign DE Mike Danna]
Flannigan-Fowles joined the Giants on a one-year, $1.34MM deal. Wednesday’s signing will reunite Flannigan-Fowles with 2025 position coach John Egorugwu, who returned to Buffalo this offseason after four seasons on New York’s staff. The Giants used Flannigan-Fowles as a three-game starter last year, and he played 36% of the team’s defensive snaps. That represented a career-high usage rate on defense for the Arizona alum.
Making 33 tackles (three for loss) and registering a sack last season, Flannigan-Fowles is still probably better remembered for his lengthy Bay Area stay. The 49ers used Flannigan-Fowles as a Week 1 starter in 2024, with Dre Greenlaw on the mend from his Super Bowl LVIII Achilles tear, and he made seven starts for the team from 2020-24.
Flannigan-Fowles, 29, has been a regular on special teams throughout his career. He saw action on at least 63% of the 49ers’ ST plays from 2020-23. That may be his Bills role, as the AFC playoff bastion returns regulars Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams. The team also rosters Buffalo native Joe Andreessen as a backup option while also bringing in fourth-round pick Kaleb Elarms-Orr out of TCU.
Chargers Expect Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt To Be Ready For Training Camp
Last season provided the Chargers with another round of high-profile injury trouble, with the tackle position seeing the most significant setbacks. Rashawn Slater missed the full season, while Joe Alt played only six games. Their absences could certainly be felt in a season-ending loss to the Patriots.
But the team is trending toward having both its starting tackles available by training camp. Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday (via The Athletic’s Daniel Popper) it is looking like both players will be ready for the start of camp. Both participated in OTAs today as well, according to ESPN.com’s Kris Rhim. This came weeks after GM Joe Hortiz proclaimed the tandem ahead of schedule.
Slater suffered a patellar tendon tear days after signing a record-setting tackle extension (four years, $114MM), representing important timing for the Pro Bowl blocker on the contract front. Alt slid to left tackle, his primary college position, but ran into health trouble early in the season. missing time with a high ankle sprain. Although Alt returned to action, he aggravated the issue and ended up undergoing season-ending surgery to address it.
The Chargers traded for two tackles between August and the November deadline, acquiring Austin Deculus and Trevor Penning. The latter, a former Saints first-round pick, re-signed with the team on a one-year deal worth $3.5MM. Penning is expected to be part of the Bolts’ left guard competition, though he could also provide important tackle depth.
Slater is entering his sixth NFL season and has dealt with two significant injuries. He missed 14 games in 2022 because of a biceps tendon tear. The Northwestern product still has two Pro Bowls on his resume, including a 2024 invite, and is one of the NFL’s top tackles. Chosen fifth overall and immediately moved to right tackle, Alt missed one game as a rookie and 11 last year. The Chargers still have Trey Pipkins rostered and used a fourth-round pick on Travis Burke at the position.
As the team hopes to give Justin Herbert premier protection on the edges, Tyler Biadasz and Cole Strange are set to respectively line up at center and right guard. Second-round pick Jake Slaughter, a three-year center for the Gators, is vying for the team’s left guard job. Slaughter rotated in at OTAs today, per Rhim, but free agency addition Kayode Awosika received the first reps. Awosika, who is tied to a one-year deal worth $2MM ($300K guaranteed), started 11 games for the Lions over the past four seasons.
The Chargers are set to trot out five new O-line starters compared to their configuration in the wild-card round, with a Slater-Slaughter-Biadasz-Strange-Alt quintet presumably where the team wants to be by Week 1. Pipkins, Penning and Awosika present experienced depth options as well.
Slater’s injury history is a concern at this point, but the Chargers are hoping the 27-year-old blocker can stay on the field and form a high-end tackle combo with Alt. The latter will become extension-eligible in 2027.
Jets Sign K Younghoe Koo
The Jets are adding another option to their kicking competition. Younghoe Koo will stay in New York and join the city’s AFC team, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.
A longtime Falcons option, Koo spent part of last season with the Giants after his Atlanta release. Koo joins Cade York and Lenny Krieg, the latter having been in a kicking competition with Koo in Atlanta during the 2025 offseason, on the Jets’ 90-man roster.
Kicking in five Giants games last season, Koo is certainly better remembered for his Falcons stay. The South Korea native played parts of seven seasons with Atlanta and opened last year as the team’s kicker. The Falcons cut Koo after he struggled in Week 1, however, and he did not see regular-season action again until November. Koo, 31, finished 6-for-9 on field goal tries as a Giant last season. He missed both his attempts from 50-plus yards.
The Giants waived Koo after he missed two 50-plus-yarders in a December loss to the Commanders. Koo tried out for the Saints earlier this month but was not signed. A Jets team that lost Nick Folk to the Falcons in free agency will give Koo a shot after adding both York and Krieg this offseason. Krieg joined the Jets on a futures deal in January, while York signed a one-year deal in March. No guarantees are present on York’s contract, opening up this competition. The Jets waived kicker Will Ferrin earlier this month.
Despite York arriving nearly three months before Koo, the latter certainly has a better NFL track record. Koo earned Pro Bowl recognition in 2020 and signed a five-year, $24.25MM extension in 2022. Koo made more than 93% of his field goal attempts in 2020 and ’21, leading the Falcons to their long-term investment, and nailed 86.5% of his tries in 2022 and ’23. In 2024, however, Koo hit just 73.5% of his tries. This came for a team primarily playing indoors.
Struggling over the past two years — which included a viral moment when a Monday-night FG attempt featured the veteran missing the ball entirely — Koo will have a rebound opportunity in a competition without another experienced option.
Cowboys Move WR Parris Campbell To Reserve/Retired List
Parris Campbell agreed to terms on a reserve/futures deal to stay in Dallas in January. Four-plus months later, the former second-round pick looks to be leaving the sport.
The Cowboys moved Campbell to the reserve/retired list Wednesday, The Athletic’s Jon Machota tweets. The former Colts draftee spent the past three seasons in the NFC East — 2023 with the Giants, 2024 with the Eagles and 2025 with the Cowboys — but had been unable to make an impact. The Ohio State product will walk away after seven NFL seasons.
Signing a rookie deal worth just more than $4.7MM, Campbell nearly matched that with a one-year Giants contract in 2023. But a steady role eluded him in New York. The former Indianapolis slot receiver was on Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LIX-winning roster, playing in three Eagles playoff games (including the Super Bowl rout of the Chiefs), but was attached to veteran-minimum deals (or close to it) over his last two seasons.
Although Campbell did not catch a pass in Super Bowl LIX, he saw action on 16 offensive plays. The Eagles did not re-sign him following that conquest, and he made his way to Dallas soon after. The Cowboys signed Campbell to a one-year, $1.34MM deal in March 2025 but released him from IR with an injury settlement in August. Campbell, however, returned to the team in September and played one final game.
Campbell’s career will be best remember for a four-year Indianapolis stay. The Colts added him with the No. 59 overall pick in 2019, but injuries interrupted attempts to become a complementary piece around T.Y. Hilton (and then Michael Pittman Jr.). A knee injury preceded Campbell breaking his hand and foot as a rookie. A PCL injury then occurred in September 2020, ending Campbell’s second season. Campbell underwent foot surgery in October 2021; over his first three seasons, the slot player missed 34 games.
The 2022 season proved pivotal for Campbell. He returned to action and did not miss a game. While the Colts flatlined during their Matt Ryan–Jeff Saturday season, Campbell finished with 63 catches for 623 yards and three touchdowns. Those contributions prompted a one-year, $4.7MM Giants offer. The 6-foot pass catcher did not pan out in New York, ending his lone Giants season as a healthy scratch, that season provided a notable bump in career earnings.
The Akron, Ohio, native totaled 1,063 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior with the Buckeyes, outpacing teammate Terry McLaurin that season. Campbell, 28, will retire with 123 NFL receptions for 1,117 yards and six scores. He earned just more than $10MM in seven seasons.
Giants Sign Round 1 OL Francis Mauigoa
Making two top-10 picks for the second time in five drafts, the Giants ended up with Arvell Reese and Francis Mauigoa. Reese has not yet signed his rookie contract, but Mauigoa put pen to paper Wednesday.
The former Miami tackle will be tied to a fully guaranteed four-year deal (worth $30.96MM) as the No. 10 overall pick. All first-round deals since 2011 have included a fifth-year option. The Giants are planning to begin Mauigoa’s career at guard, having re-signed right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor to go with All-Pro Andrew Thomas. Reese is now the Giants’ only unsigned draftee.
[RELATED: Analyzing Giants’ Position Decisions For First-Rounders]
New York acquired the No. 10 overall pick from Cincinnati in the pre-draft Dexter Lawrence blockbuster. While the Giants were connected to a handful of players with their two first-rounders, few expected the Reese-Mauigoa duo to materialize. Tied to Caleb Downs — a player who would have given John Harbaugh a potential impact safety along the lines of Kyle Hamilton — the Giants instead bolstered their O-line at No. 10 despite having re-signed Eluemunor to a three-year, $39MM deal in March. Downs went to the Cowboys one pick later.
Although the Browns considered Mauigoa at No. 9, they chose Utah’s Spencer Fano. That left the Miami product for the Giants, who have chosen a Miami O-lineman in the first round for the second time since 2015. New York did not see former No. 9 overall pick Ereck Flowers pan out, though he had some success as a guard later in his career. Mauigoa worked primarily as the Hurricanes’ right tackle, and while he certainly could become the team’s post-Eluemunor starter there, a guard transition is on tap first. Mauigoa is expected to line up at right guard, where veteran Greg Van Roten played over the past two seasons.
Mauigoa did not miss a snap at Miami, but some teams viewed him as a medical risk due to a back issue. Some clubs believed Mauigoa would need back surgery at some point, but the Giants will move forward with the high-profile prospect. Ely Allen’s PFR mock draft sent Mauigoa to the Giants at No. 5 — before the Lawrence trade was agreed to — and post-draft reporting indicated the team would have pulled the trigger there had Reese been off the board.
Earning first-team All-ACC honors in 2025, Mauigoa helped Miami make a surprise run to the CFP championship game last season. The acclaimed RT garnered second-team All-ACC honors in 2024 and freshman All-America accolades in 2023. The Giants have struggled to find long-term guard answers for more than a decade now, and while Mauigoa may be moved to RT at some point during his rookie contract, he will be asked to fill a void at RG for the time being.
NCAA Denies QB Brendan Sorsby 2026 Reinstatement; Appeal Expected
The Brendan Sorsby saga took another turn Tuesday. The NCAA has denied the Texas Tech quarterback reinstatement for the 2026 season, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports.
Gambling violations led to Sorsby’s current predicament, leaving him on the outside looking in with regards to playing for the Red Raiders. Texas Tech is expected to appeal the NCAA’s decision, The Athletic’s Justin Williams adds. Sorsby is seeking clarity by June 22, the deadline for the NFL’s supplemental draft.
Sorsby entered a treatment program following news that the two-time transfer had made “thousands of online bets on a variety of sports via a gambling app” since 2022, and Thamel adds the quarterback has completed this 35-day in-patient treatment rehab in Goodyear, Ariz. Sorsby is expected to return to Lubbock, Texas, soon, as a Lubbock County court date looms June 1.
The first step on Sorsby’s attempt to return to college football — where a $6MM NIL deal would await from Texas Tech — did not go his way. Sorsby had requested an expedited resolution from the NCAA, as the supplemental draft deadline looms. The supplemental draft peaked in relevancy decades ago and has been canceled a few times in recent years. Sorsby being part of the event this year would change the proceedings, though as our Adam La Rose noted in his most recent PFR mailbag, NFL teams figure to take the gambling component into consideration when determining a possible investment — which would cost a corresponding 2027 draft choice.
The next chapter here will come June 1, when Sorsby’s eligibility case has been assigned a temporary injunction hearing. Sorsby played in one game with Indiana in 2022 and served as the Hoosiers’ primary starter in 2023. He transferred to Cincinnati in 2024 and worked as the Bearcats’ starter over the past two seasons. He had emerged on the radar as a QB to monitor and was squarely on the 2027 draft radar after transferring to Texas Tech. The gambling issues have stonewalled Sorsby’s career, but clarity will emerge soon.
Sorsby has hired high-powered attorney Jeffrey Kessler to represent him. While a return to the college ranks and the lucrative NIL package from the Big 12 program remains the passer’s goal, NFL teams will soon learn if another potential 2026 option will be available.
The supplemental draft’s heyday came in the 1980s, when the likes of Cris Carter, Bernie Kosar, Brian Bosworth and Bobby Humphrey emerged. Kosar’s 1985 path represents the most notable supplemental draft tale, but QBs have been taken in the years since as well. The Cowboys sacrificed a 1990 first-round pick by taking Steve Walsh in the 1989 supplemental draft, while the Cardinals did the same for Timm Rosenbach that year. The Giants forked over their 1993 first-round pick to take Dave Brown in the ’92 supplemental draft, while the Raiders provided the next (and most recent) chapter at the position by using a third-round pick to add then-QB Terrelle Pryor in 2011.
Sorsby would be poised to join these ranks if the courts do not rule in his favor. Otherwise, a potentially awkward 2026 season at Texas Tech would be on track to commence before his NFL arrival.
Cardinals OLB Josh Sweat Drawing Trade Interest
Josh Sweat delivered a productive first season with the Cardinals, but the team finished 3-14. Three years remain on Sweat’s contract, but teams are exploring the possibility of Arizona unloading it.
The Cardinals have received trade calls on Sweat, according to veteran insider Jordan Schultz. Although the Cards retained DC Nick Rallis — after multiple candidates dropped out of the running — Schultz adds Sweat is close with since-fired HC Jonathan Gannon. Sweat played under Gannon — now the Packers’ DC — in Philadelphia and rejoined him in Arizona last year.
Entering his age-29 season, Sweat is tied to a four-year deal worth $76.4MM. Sweat’s 2026 compensation is guaranteed, but no guarantees are in place beyond this year. The former Eagles standout is due $9.78MM in base salary this season, presenting an interesting opportunity for a Cardinals team that replaced Gannon with Mike LaFleur.
Sweat, however, is coming off a career-best season in the sack department after finishing with 12. The recent explosion on the edge rusher market also gives the Cardinals a bargain with Sweat, whose $19.1MM AAV is now less than a third of where Will Anderson Jr.‘s top-market AAV stands ($50MM). Arizona will surely set a high asking price.
The Cardinals also did not make a notable investment at edge rusher this offseason. The team passed on Arvell Reese at No. 3 overall, choosing Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. Arizona did not draft an edge rusher and returns a modest Sweat supporting cast. The Cardinals have converted ILB Zaven Collins under contract to go with Baron Browning and BJ Ojulari. None has produced on the level of Sweat, who commanded a big-ticket free agency deal on the strength of a strong 2024 playoff showing that helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX.
With the Cardinals seemingly aiming to add a first-round quarterback in 2027, collecting additional assets would make sense in the event a team or multiple teams finish with worse records in 2026. Sending Sweat elsewhere would be a way to do so, though it would significantly deplete the team’s pass rush. The Vikings just collected two third-round picks from the Eagles for Jonathan Greenard, who is also entering an age-29 season (Minnesota had wanted a second-rounder). It is not known if Sweat wants a new contract, but it would not surprise based on where he is in the position’s updated pecking order 14-plus months after he signed his Arizona deal.
Sweat’s AAV ranks 22nd among edge rushers. Among those contracts above him, 14 were agreed to after his March 2025 Cardinals commitment. The ninth-year veteran (2.5 sacks in Super Bowl LIX) has also proven durable, not missing a game due to injury since 2020. That certainly strengthens Sweat’s trade value, though it is not known if the Cardinals are interested.
The same GM (Monti Ossenfort) is in place from Sweat’s signing, and he may well be on the hot seat after the team’s 3-14 finish in the exec’s third year atop the Arizona front office. Sweat’s name circulating this far in advance of the season will make him a player to monitor, with the Cardinals likely to entertain seller’s trades before the deadline. Though seller’s trades regularly include contract-year players, Sweat would be an appealing commodity due to his wildly team-friendly deal that runs through the 2028 season.