Josh Sweat is embracing his role with the Cardinals' defense.

It's nice to know that Josh Sweat isn't in it for a paycheck.

Indeed, many people relocate to Arizona to retire. Who could fault the veteran edge rusher for coasting? He’s 28. He’s been in the NFL for seven years. already has a ring, having won Super Bowl LIX as part of the Philadelphia Eagles. Sweat could operate at 80%, put up decent numbers, disregard people calling him washed up, and call it a career at 32. Not bad, right?

Well. That’s not what he plans on doing. When Josh Sweat joined the Arizona Cardinals, he came to Glendale to work .

Josh Sweat on being a defensive leader: ‘I embrace it’

It was expected that Sweat would become a leader in the new Monti Ossenfort/Jonathan Gannon rebuilt defense. And Josh says he’s up to the task. “I embrace it, too,” he told reporters during the team’s second day of minicamp (h/t Fox Sports At the end of the day, I’m trying to be the best teammate I can be, and help out however I can.

The Cardinals signed Sweat in a four-year, $76.4 million deal, hoping that he would be a cornerstone of the new defense. And it sounds like he’s going to earn every single cent, sharing his knowledge with the squad that includes free agents. Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson (as well as first-round draft pick, Walter Nolenn III ). Plus, there’s Darius Robinson, Jordan Burchenstein and Will Johnson all ready to follow Sweat into battle.

Arizona Is Gonna Make You Sweat

Before taking the Arizona head coaching job, Jonathan Gannon excelled as the defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles. From 2021 to 2023, Gannon turned Philly’s defense into a murderous flock that gave hell to opposing quarterbacks. And one of Gannon’s star pupils was none other than Josh Sweat.

In 2022, under Gannon’s guidance, Sweat racked up his first double-digit sack season (11), including racking up 2.5 sacks and three QB hits on Patrick Mahomes in the Eagles’ 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

Sweat also had his career-high of 48 tackles. Sweat also had his first and only interception as an Eagle. Now that he’s reunited with the man who unlocked his potential, there’s hope that many will follow in his footsteps. Not to mention, Sweat finally gives Arizona a much-needed edge rusher, an position <failed> Chandler Jones left in 2022.

Max Effort

Overall, Arizona has been on an upward trend, going 8-9 in 2024 after going 4-13 the prior season. Kyler Murray seems locked in. Marvin Harrison Jr. has bulked up (here’s hoping his stats this season get just as swole). There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic if you’re a Cardinals fan.

Yes, winning the NFC West will be a challenge, thanks to the rebounding San Francisco 49ers and the steadfastly strong Los Angeles Rams squad.

But Josh sees a path to success this season.

All you've got to do is approach every day with your max effort," said Sweat. "I promise you'll see a result. That's what made the difference for me.

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