Insider Hints at Cardinals Landing Eagles Star

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Arizona Cardinals have gone through two free agency cycles where general manager Monti Ossenfort has spend little to no money on bringing in impact players.

Perhaps that's been warranted, as the Cardinals haven't quite been in the position to justify the spending - at least until now.

After narrowly missing the postseason, Arizona is armed with plenty of cap space and six picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. Hitting on the right players will be pivotal in getting the Cardinals over the hump.

Who are they expected to target?

NFL insider Ben Allbright joined PHNX at the NFL Scouting Combine and identified Philadelphia Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat saying he has the best chance to join the Cardinals:

"That's a good question - [Josh] Sweat would be the name, I think. That's obvious and since we already talked about that I'll try - I don't think the Commanders are going to find a trade partner [for Daron Payne] and I think they wind up cutting him," said Allbright.

"I believe there's going to be a commitment to that front seven, and it'll make the secondary better. I would not be surprised to see them come away with two, even three free agents along that defensive line."

Ahead of free agency, what front-seven standout does @AllbrightNFL think has a real chance to end up with the Arizona Cardinals?@PHNX_Cardinals | #NFLCombine

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— Johnny Venerable (@JohnnyVenerable) February 27, 2025

Sweat has been heavily tied to the Cardinals since the beginning of free agency, as Arizona has an obvious need at outside linebacker while Sweat has previous experience working with head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis back in Philadelphia.

Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort answered this when asked about players' familiarity with free agents and if it helps:

"Yeah, maybe a little bit. ... I'm a big fan of having information... any information that's good information and credible information We'll use all those avenues. We've had some other coaches that have come into our program from other teams," said Ossenfort.

"Absolutely, we'll ask them and guys that have first-hand knowledge of being with a player... 'Hey, what are they like on a day-to-day basis? What do they do well? What do they have to improve on?' Absolutely, those are all avenues that we'll use and continue to gather that information as we make our decisions going in a free agency."

Sweat has an estimated market value of $18.8 million on Spotrac but might just push past that figure when the open market hits. Sweat was instrumental in helping the Eagles secure a Super Bowl title with 2.5 sacks, six tackles, and three quarterback hits against Kansas City.

The Cardinals - along with any other team - will likely have to overpay for Sweat's services if they want him in the desert.