The Arizona Cardinals had hopes for a decent season this year. The prognosis was to win between six and eight games this year, then add a few more wins in the second season under new head coach Mike LaFleur.
Then hopefully, by Year 3, the roster would start making waves and qualify for a playoff berth.
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Of course, this was the same plan for former head coach Jonathan Gannon. But instead of a postseason berth, Gannon’s final year ended with breaking
the franchise record for the most losses in a single season with 14.
So, is this a teardown process for the Cardinals?
It is normal for a new head coach to come in and clean house, then bring in “his” type of players. On opening day this year, there were 23 new bodies on the active roster, and several more listed on the practice squad.
After the first seven games, the Cardinals find themselves at 2-5-0 and once again in last place in the NFC West Division. Their schedule this year is brutal, despite being a last-place division finisher in 2025. Coming up, they have games against the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, plus divisional games against the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, and the league-leading San Francisco 49ers.
All of these games could be losses. They could also get beat by mediocre clubs such as the Washington Commanders and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Arizona plays the Cowboys this weekend, and then the rubber game against the Seahawks. Both games are on the road in front of very hostile crowds. If they lose both, should they begin the process of starting over? Rebuilding?
Part of every team’s process of a new beginning is to get rid of their highest-priced players. For the Cardinals, that short list includes DE Josh Sweat and S Budda Baker.
Sweating it out
EDGE Josh Sweat was the main part of the Cardinals’ pass rush last year, as he balled out in the first year of his new contract to the tune of 12 sacks, 17 QB hits, and 28 pressures, among other stats.
But this year, he has lost his partner in crime, DT Calais Campbell, who wasn’t re-signed. Campbell had 6.5 sacks on his own plus 16 QB hits and 18 pressures. He was a huge disruptor in the opposing team’s backfield on passing downs.
Now, in all fairness, Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort did select Campbell’s replacement in this year’s NFL draft when he took DT Kaleb Proctor out of Southeastern Louisiana. He is one of those rare defensive tackles who can provide a pass rush and isn’t just a gap plugger. And he ran a 4.71. Then, Proctor tore his meniscus during training camp and was ruled out for the entire season.
The plan was for Proctor and DT Walter Nolen to dominate the middle and take pressure and double teams off of Sweat. But Nolen has been in the medical ward off and on.
So, how is Sweat doing this season with the additional attention placed on Campbell? 16 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 4 QB hits, 0 pass defenses, 0 forced fumbles, 0 fumble recoveries, 0 interceptions, 8 pressures, 4 hurries, 2 knockdowns, and 0 missed tackles.
What do these numbers say to you? Pro Bowl prospect? Marginal talent?
Sweat was real good friends with former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, who is now the DC with the Green Bay Packers under LaFleur’s brother, Matt LaFleur. When Gannon got fired for losing 26 games in the past two seasons, it became a problem for Sweat. Now, he said it wasn’t an issue, as he stated in Sports Illustrated:
“People think I only came here for one reason, and that was Jonathan Gannon, and yeah, that made the decision easier for me. But I know the guys that were here. I love the way they play. There was a lot of noise in the offseason, but I didn’t respond purposely. I just wanted to see how far people’s imagination could take it.”
During training camp, there were rumors that because Gannon was fired, Sweat had demanded a trade. That may or may not have been the truth, but nothing more came of it. Then Sweat stayed out of all training camp, showed up the week before the first game, and has played ever since.
But there is no way he is the dynamic pass rusher he was last year.
Sweat is one of those EDGE rushers that has good to very good numbers every year on a consistent basis, but he isn’t going to blow the doors off of any offensive coordinator’s game plan the way a guy like Myles Garrett or Micah Parsons may generate interest. Now in his ninth NFL season, he only has a single Pro Bowl.
For two months, all we have heard is how Sweat will be a trade deadline candidate. If Ossenfort had traded him during the offseason, Arizona just might have gotten a good haul for him. Perhaps even a first-round draft pick. But now? What? Would the team jump at the first third-round offer that is dangled?
Then there is the money issue. Sweat is in the second year of a four-year $76 million deal, with $38 million guaranteed. This year he has a cap hit of $16.4 million. The final two years of the contract rise to $23.6 million.
The market for defensive linemen has already begun. The Indianapolis Colts traded DE DeForest Buckner back to the San Francisco 49ers. The Tennessee Titans traded star DL Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears.
The only other pass rushers rumored to be traded before the November 10 deadline are Los Angeles Chargers EDGE rusher Khalil Mack and Sweat.
The big question for Ossenfort: Which is better for the Cardinals this year and in following seasons? Have Josh Sweat on the roster, or have whichever rookie player that third-round draft pick creates?
The Budda Man
Safety Budda Baker is a fan favorite, and the desert is his only NFL team. He was a second-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Washington and has since gone to eight Pro Bowls, been named to the NFL All-Rookie Team, voted First Team All-Pro twice, Second Team All-Pro twice, and was the NFL solo tackles leader in 2019 (104).
He had a career-high 164 total tackles in 2024 and has had 100+ tackles in six of his 10 seasons.
So, why is Baker on this list? Anyone?
Don’t ask him. He appears to be happy with the Cardinals. He told ESPN Arizona:
“My approach is I’m here. I’m here. I want to win. I want to be here. And I’m just controlling what I can control, just taking it one week at a time, and hopefully when the deadline ends, I’ll still be here. If not, I mean, it’s a business. I understand at the end of the day, and that’s it.”
Perhaps it is the fact that he is a senior member of the roster. Or maybe it is the amount of money the Cardinals are paying him. He is in the final year of a three-year, $54 million deal in which his cap hit this year is $19.2 million. Ossenfort will have to sign Baker to another extension or trade him.
But in fairness, it seems like every year, when the media begins to write articles about the impending NFL trade deadline, Baker’s name seems to leak out as a possible candidate.
Baker has noticed:
“My name has been attached to trade rumors for like five, six years now. So, at the end of the day, I’m here, be where your feet are. I’m happy to be a Cardinal and just focus on getting a “W” this week versus the Cowboys.”
The NFL is in the entertainment profession. It is also a business with so many moving parts and pieces. And those pieces get moved around a lot.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN stated this about the Cardinals moving Baker:
“A few wins won’t camouflage Arizona’s transitional state — and it needs draft capital to finish the rebuild. Baker, who has seven consecutive Pro Bowls and has 3.5 sacks on the season, could help get the Cardinals some extra picks. Long a favorite in coaching circles, Baker would garner strong interest. People I’ve talked to believe the Cardinals should try to get something for Baker.”
Okay, first of all, let’s do a correction. Baker has been to the Pro Bowl eight times, not seven.
And secondly, why should the Cardinals “try to get something” for Baker? What is wrong with where he is? He already has 44 tackles, and it is just seven games played. He had 120 last year and 164 the year before, so it’s pretty clear his production isn’t waning. And he is an extremely durable player. That in itself is pure gold in a violent atmosphere like professional football.
It would be shocking if Ossenfort actually traded away Baker’s productivity. And for what? Are we talking about Arizona receiving a first-and second-round draft pick? Or just another third-round rookie?
