Josh Sweat is preparing for his debut with the Arizona Cardinals as the team opens its regular season against the New Orleans Saints. The schedule has brought back memories for Sweat, who recalled his notable 2½-sack performance against Kansas City in the Super Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
“To be real, that’s all I’ve been thinking of,” Sweat said. “It couldn’t be more of a coincidence for me. But man, it’s exciting. I love playing in their atmosphere.”
This game marks Sweat’s first appearance in a Cardinals uniform since his college days at Florida State. Previously, he spent seven seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, including standout moments against the Saints.
In 2020, while playing under defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, Sweat had his first two-sack game against New Orleans. “The Saints have been good to me,” Sweat said.
Two years later, he intercepted Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for a pick-six—his first career interception—a play remembered by Saints coach Kellen Moore from Moore’s time as Dallas’ offensive coordinator.
“His length, his size, and his football I.Q., his ability to diagnose things is really special,” Moore said. “He can make some really special plays.”
Sweat signed a four-year, $76 million contract with Arizona this offseason. The team also re-signed Baron Browning and drafted Jordan Burch to improve a pass rush that ranked among the league’s lowest last year in pressure rate and total pressures.
Browning noted that outside opinions about the team’s need for pass rushers are not affecting their approach. He emphasized internal accountability: “Nobody is going to be our hardest critics but our own selves and everyone in that room,” Browning said. “We want to go out there and dominate each week and obviously everybody gets got, but we want to get ours more than we get got.”
The Cardinals aim to take advantage of New Orleans’ inexperienced offensive line. Over the past two drafts, the Saints selected Kelvin Banks Jr. and Taliese Fuaga as starting tackles.
Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis employs a rotation among edge rushers. According to TruMedia data, Zaven Collins played 49 percent of snaps as a pass rusher last season; Sweat’s percentage was higher at 62 percent over an equal number of games.
Coach Gannon indicated that Sweat’s snap count will vary based on game situations and personnel packages rather than following a set pattern.
“We are going to get guys rolling and everybody is going to get a chance,” Sweat said. “We can all be full speed that way.”
As the opener approaches, both uncertainty and optimism surround the new-look defense.
“We look real good,” Sweat said. “We’ve been coming together as a group and that’s all I can really ask for. We connect and we’ve been doing a lot of stuff together, and that’s what it is going to come down to because then it’s like, let me play for that guy. That’s what it needs to become and that’s how it’s going to play out.”
