Cardinals OLB Josh Sweat Not At OTAs & Reportedly Not Happy With Team

Cardinals OLB Josh Sweat is another prominent Cardinals player who has not been in attendance so far at voluntary OTAs. John Gambadoro reported that Sweat’s absence is not due to any injury.

Kyle Odegard adds that he’s been hearing for a while that Sweat is not particularly happy in Arizona, though he doesn’t know his exact reason for staying away from OTAs. 

The veteran pass rusher was a big-ticket free agent signing last offseason to rejoin former HC Jonathan Gannon, who coached him with the Eagles when he had his first double-digit sack season. 

Sweat hit double-digit sacks again in 2025 despite Arizona’s overall struggles on defense. He was not voted to the Pro Bowl, a snub that he was vocal about, and then Gannon was fired after the season. 

In addition to the overall direction of the Arizona franchise, it’s possible Sweat is dissatisfied with his current contract. He’s making $19 million a year which is 22nd at his position. Veteran pass rusher Jonathan Greenard was making the same amount from the Vikings before getting a raise to $30 million a year after being traded to the Eagles, Sweat’s former team. 

Sweat, 28, is a former fourth-round pick by the Eagles in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Florida State. He finished the final year of his four-year, $3.05 million rookie contract and earned a base salary of $920,000 for the 2021 season. 

Sweat would have been an unrestricted free agent in 2022 before he signed a three-year, $42 million extension. He played out that deal and was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent again in 2025 when he signed a four-year, $76 million contract with the Cardinals. 

In 2025, Sweat appeared in all 17 games for the Cardinals and recorded 30 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, four forced fumbles, one recovery and two pass deflections.

We’ll have more on Sweat as the news is available.