As expected, Arizona Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur kept his promise and rested virtually all his primary starters during his team’s third game of the preseason, a 34-13 loss to the visiting Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night, Aug. 22, at State Farm Stadium.
That’s good. That’s nice. It’s refreshing that the rookie head coach has tried to be as transparent as possible and speak the truth to reporters as often as he can.
But now we’ve reached the point where it’s time for LaFleur to provide some real answers to the curious case of edge rusher Josh Sweat, the Cardinals’ most impactful defensive player, who hasn’t practiced once with the team since the end of last season.
Since leaving the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent and signing a four-year deal worth $76.4 million and finishing with a team-leading 12 sacks during his debut season in Arizona, Sweat has been nearly invisible. He didn’t participate in any on-field work during OTAs or minicamp. When training camp finally rolled around, he was suddenly placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list for maintenance of a minor knee issue.
LaFleur said the move was precautionary, adding that the ninth-year veteran would be activated as soon as possible and that absolutely nothing was seriously wrong. Days turned into weeks, and Sweat continues to remain out, or sidelined, or something that doesn’t quite feel right.
This isn’t to suggest that the Cardinals’ situation with Sweat is mirroring the Arizona Diamondbacks’ latest mystery involving the mercurial Ketel Marte, but it’s starting to make me wonder.
What’s the holdup? LaFleur has never indicated that Sweat has had any setback with his knee. Apparently, the outside linebacker isn’t making any demands about being traded to a contender, either. The coach has continued to say that Sweat is in good spirits, progressing well, and will be back before you know it.
So, after the loss to Dallas, I asked him if he was optimistic Sweat could be activated in the very near future — you know, like this week.
LaFleur’s only response was, “This coming week? Josh is doing good.”
Uh, anybody checked the calendar lately?
Cut-down day is looming on Sunday, Aug. 30. All NFL clubs must reduce their roster to the 53-man limit. The Cardinals’ season opener is lurking soon after, on Sept. 13 at the Los Angeles Chargers.
If Sweat isn’t activated from the PUP list at some point this week, it’s more than likely he’s going to miss upcoming joint-practice sessions in Wisconsin before Arizona’s preseason finale at the Green Bay Packers on Friday, Aug. 28. Should that be the case, it leaves Sweat precious little time to squeeze in some necessary practice work before the season starts.
“We want all these guys, whether they got injured or they got injured a week ago or obviously in Sweat’s case in terms of just getting him out there for that first time,” LaFleur said. “We want all those guys back, but like I always say with the guys that are edge rushers, they rush the quarterback. It’s a little different than the rhythm and timing of a quarterback if we’re being real about it. It’s one thing, rhythm and timing, and working in combination with an offensive line.
“It’s another thing when you’re in that stance on third down, and you’re fighting to win huge. There’s no doubt in my mind if you want to be better at football, you’ve got to be out there in football. But there’s a little difference there in my mind. Not everyone would agree with me on that.”
Take that for whatever it’s worth. But if Swet is truly healthy, it should have happened by now. If he is truly happy in Arizona, he should have proclaimed himself ready to go. For the Cardinals’ sake — and their anxious fanbase — you can only hope the decision has already been made, and that Sweat is ready to get back to work.
You know, like yesterday.
It doesn’t sound like we are any closer to a solution. It’s too bad, really. It would serve as a giant shot in the arm for the franchise, which is always searching for a boost.
When the team activated cornerback Garrett Williams from the PUP list on Thursday, Aug. 20, he was at practice later that day. Like Sweat, Williams didn’t suit up against the Cowboys. But at least Williams is doing something.
That’s what this team and what the sports-loving folks in the Valley need to see from Josh Sweat. He is the Cardinals' only legitimate threat at harassing opposing quarterbacks and wrecking a game as a “war daddy” — a nickname his former coach, Jonathan Gannon, liked to call him and other notorious NFL pass rushers such as Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons.
Until he is back in the fold, back on the field, and invading opponents’ backfields, the Cardinals don’t stand a ghost of a chance of being relevant in 2026. Not when their best defensive player, sadly, has been a ghost himself.
Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. on Roc and Manuch with Jimmy B on ESPN 620 (KTAR-AM) and every Thursday on the Doug Franz Unplugged podcast via Apple or Spotify.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals' situation with Josh Sweat remains perplexing
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