When the Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback did not show up for his second straight OTA’s it was once again the news.
Missed in the hoopla of the quarterback “holdout” is that their most productive defensive player from 2025 is also not at OTA’s, as Josh Sweat is missing from the voluntary portion of the offseason.
Sweat had 12 sacks for the Cardinals in 2025, to go along with 13 tackles for loss, bott tops on the team. Sweat’s absence doesn’t matter for now, but it is concerning in the sense that the top two players in sacks and tackles for loss are both missing, Sweat because… who knows why, and Calais Campbell, 6.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss, because he plays for the Baltimore Ravens.
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On a defense that stunk out loud in 2025, not having your best defensive lineman and then wondering aloud what the commitment level is from your only edge rusher is not ideal.
I say wonder aloud because we know that the Cardinals like to use the local sports show to leak things to the media, trying to paint themselves in a good light.
However, people have speculated since the Jonathan Gannon firing that Sweat was not happy:
Hopefully it is nothing. Sweat is notorious for not showing to offseason workouts, and the Cardinals are bringing back the same defense as last year, for better or worse.
But, with how bad things were last year for the defense, it would be nice to know where they stand with one of their most important pieces.
