The Arizona Cardinals made a pair of roster moves involving one key defender and one young running back, activating outside linebacker Josh Sweat from the PUP list while waiving Trey Benson with an injury designation.
Sweat’s return gives Arizona back a player who was a steady presence in 2025. The 29-year-old former Eagles fourth-round pick out of Florida State played in all 17 games and put together a disruptive season, finishing with 30 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, four forced fumbles, one recovery and two pass deflections.
His path to Arizona has included a few contract stops along the way. Sweat finished the final season of his four-year, $3.05 million rookie deal with Philadelphia and made a base salary of $920,000 in 2021.
He was set to hit unrestricted free agency in 2022 before signing a three-year, $42 million extension with the Eagles. After playing out that contract, he was scheduled to become a free agent again in 2025 before landing a four-year, $76 million deal with the Cardinals.
Benson, meanwhile, is the corresponding roster casualty. The 24-year-old transferred to Florida State after two seasons at Oregon and earned Second-team All-ACC honors in both 2022 and 2023. Arizona selected him No. 66 overall in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
He signed a four-year, $6,059,606 contract that included a $1,226,984 signing bonus. For 2025, he was set to make a base salary of $1,070,437 and carry a cap charge of $1,386,003.
In four games this season, Benson logged 29 rushing attempts for 160 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry, and did not score a touchdown. He also added 13 receptions for 64 yards, good for 4.9 yards per catch.
In Other News...
Cardinals Collapse Put Their Quarterback Gamble In A Tougher Spot
The Cardinals preseason loss to Dallas did more than just fill a line in the standings. Even with most of their starters resting, Arizona gave up 34 points and 413 total yards to a Cowboys group built around backup players, a rough showing that put a spotlight on the kind of depth issues teams hope to avoid this time of year. It also served as a reminder that the offseason quarterback picture is already under a brighter-than-usual lens, with Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew and rookie Carson Beck all part of the conversation.
Mike LaFleur pointed to a poor week of practice as part of the problem, and the game did little to ease the pressure around a roster trying to find some stability. The defensive concerns are obvious enough, but the bigger question may be how much support the quarterbacks will actually have if the rest of the team cannot hold up its end. For a club already weighing its options under center, a lopsided preseason setback does not make that decision any easier. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Defense Is Giving Fans A Familiar Reason To Worry
The Cardinals defense entered the 2025 preseason with some expectation that the new-look coaching staff would help clean up last years problems, but the early returns have looked awfully familiar. Under defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, Arizona has already given up more than 30 points in two preseason games, and the issues have shown up in the same places they did before: stopping the run and getting off the field on third down.
Arizona allowed 25.6 points per game in the preseason, along with 139.7 rushing yards and a 61.1% opponent third-down conversion rate, numbers that point to more than just August rust. With coaching changes at most positions but continuity at defensive coordinator, the Cardinals are still searching for signs that the problems from a year ago are being addressed rather than repeated. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Still Have Key Week 1 Jobs Up For Grabs
With one preseason game left before the roster gets trimmed to 53, the Cardinals are still sorting out a few of the most important Week 1 decisions. Mike LaFleur is expected to settle on Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, while Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier appear set to share the workload at running back, giving Arizona a clearer picture of the top of the depth chart even as the final shape of the lineup remains in flux.
Plenty of other jobs are still being sorted out on both sides of the ball, and the last exhibition outing figures to matter for more than just fringe roster hopefuls. Several projected starters and rotation spots are still tied to game-plan needs and how players perform in live action, which means the Cardinals are entering the finish line with a few questions still open and a lot of the meaningful decisions still ahead. [Read more 🡒]