New Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat works to bring franchise same success he had in Philly

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The most recent time edge rusher Josh Sweat was seen on an NFL field, he was making life miserable for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the Eagles’ Super Bowl win in February.

Now he hopes to lead the Arizona Cardinals to that sort of success.

“All you got to do is approach every day with your max effort,” Sweat said on Wednesday during the second day of the team’s minicamp. “I promise you’ll see a result. That’s what made the difference for me.”

The 28-year-old Sweat signed a $76.4 million, four-year contract in March as the centerpiece of the Cardinals’ rebuild of the defensive front. General manager Monti Ossenfort also added free agent linemen Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell, and selected Walter Nolen III with the No. 16 overall pick out of Mississippi.

On top of that, Darius Robinson — a first-round pick last season from Missouri — hopes to make a big jump after an injury-filled rookie season. This year’s third-round pick Jordan Burch is also pushing for a role.

But it’s Sweat whom the Cardinals expect to lead the way.

“I embrace it,” Sweat said. ”At the end of the day, I’m trying to be the best teammate I can be and help out however I can.”

Third-year coach Jonathan Gannon is pleased that Sweat has embraced more leadership heading into his eighth NFL season. Arizona finished 8-9 last season, which was a four-win improvement over 2023.

Now the franchise is trying to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

“Guys pick his brain about certain things,” Gannon said. “He’ll help in that way, because he’s played a lot of ball. He’s been successful. I always say, ‘You want to know ball, talk to the players.’ He’s one of those guys you can talk to.”

Sweat’s resume speaks for itself.

He had 2 1/2 sacks of Mahomes in Philadelphia’s 40-22 victory over Kansas City in the Super Bowl. He added eight sacks during the regular season and has been a consistent pass rush threat with 39 sacks over the past five seasons, including at least six each year. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2021.

“I know he can impact a game,” Gannon said. “That’s one of the reasons we signed him.”

Gannon is familiar with Sweat’s talent after spending two seasons with him in 2021 and 2022 as the Eagles defensive coordinator. The Eagles made the Super Bowl in Gannon’s final year before losing to the Chiefs, which was one of the big reasons he earned his first opportunity to be a head coach with the Cardinals.

Nick Rallis — Arizona’s defensive coordinator — was also with the Eagles during those two seasons as linebackers coach.

The hope is the familiar faces will help Sweat make a quick transition to a new franchise.

“From a standpoint of what his job description is — that’s not going to change much,” Gannon said. “Then it’s just tweaking his game. There’s some differences than what we did with him (in Philadelphia) to what we do now and he picked it up quick.”

Sweat agreed: “The scheme, you can play fast in it. Picking it up is easy. It’s not going to take me very long at all.”

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