Redskins Sign First-Round OLB Montez Sweat

The Washington Redskins announced that they’ve signed first-round OLB Montez Sweat to a four-year rookie contract.

Sweat, 22, was the No. 26 overall pick by the Redskins out of Mississippi State. Washington traded up with the Colts to select him, exchanging their No. 46 overall pick and a 2020 second-round pick.

According to OverTheCap.com, Sweat received a four-year, $11,641,256 rookie contract including a $6,486,368 signing bonus. 

He played two seasons at Mississippi State after transferring from Michigan State. Many draft analysts consider him to be a top-10 prospect in this year’s class, but an enlarged heart diagnosis created concern from NFL teams. 

Reports said that Sweat’s enlarged heart led to some teams removing him from their draft boards. 

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that NFL teams believe Sweat’s heart condition was misdiagnosed as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at the combine.

Two sources have told Rapoport that the thickness of Sweat’s heart wall is actually 1.5 cms, not nearly 2.0.

According to Rapoport, additional tests have indicated that there’s no risk with regards to Sweat’s heart moving forward. 

During his college career, Sweat appeared in 27 games and recorded 105 tackles, 23.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a recovery.