The Cardinals are still in the middle of the NFC West mess, and that alone has changed the feel around their trade deadline outlook. At 3-5-0, Arizona sits last in the division, but the gap is narrow enough that this season no longer feels like a lost cause. After the comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys last weekend, the roster has at least shown enough fight to keep the front office from treating everything like a fire sale.
That matters because the Cardinals were already tagged as sellers once they started 2-5-0, and the Jacoby Brissett trade only reinforced that label. Even so, not every name on the roster is headed out the door. Two of the biggest talking points are EDGE Josh Sweat and safety Budda Baker, and the latest word on both points in different directions.
Sweat has been in the rumor mill for more than a month, and for good reason. Last season, he posted 12 sacks, 17 QB hits and 28 pressures, production that made him look like a major asset after signing a big free-agent deal.
This year, though, the numbers have dipped. Through eight games, he has 3 sacks, 5 QB hits and 9 pressures.
That’s a step back, even if he has picked up three sacks over his last five games.
The Cardinals are not hiding the fact that Sweat is available before the November 10 trade deadline. At the same time, GM Monti Ossenfort has made it clear the team is not desperate to move him. Arizona is willing to keep him if the right offer doesn’t show up, and the asking price is reportedly high enough to make some teams back away.
That price tag is part of why Sweat may stay put. The Cardinals know they have control here, and they also know pass rushers do not grow on trees.
Sweat has two more years left on his contract, and the team is not inclined to let him go cheaply. Sweat, for his part, has said he would be open to a trade or happy to remain in Arizona.
There is also the matter of what the Cardinals look like coming out of this weekend. With Jacoby Brissett moved to the bench and Gardner Minshew taking over as the starter, Arizona will get another chance to show whether the win over Dallas was a one-off or a sign of something sturdier. If the offense responds well against the Seahawks, Ossenfort could decide to hold onto Sweat and revisit his trade value later if his play does not climb back to last year’s level.
Several teams have already checked in. The Cowboys have been the loudest, with the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals also mentioned. The San Francisco 49ers have come up too, though the usual understanding applies when it comes to division and conference trades.
Arizona has not said what it wants in return, but the expectation has been a Day 2 pick, meaning a second- or third-round selection, with a fourth- or fifth-round pick attached. The bigger question is whether that kind of return is worth stripping the defense of its only productive pass rusher for help that would not matter this season.
Baker’s situation is much quieter, even if his name keeps popping up every year. No one seems certain where the trade chatter starts, though the rumor mill has a habit of circling back to him. Baker has said publicly that he is happy with the Cardinals, likes the defensive scheme and gets along well with DC Nick Rallis.
Inside the organization, there is no real push to move him. The Cardinals value his production, his tackling and what he brings as a leader in the locker room. Unless an offer comes in that blows the doors off, Baker is not expected to go anywhere.
In Other News...
Seahawks Week 9 Outlook Just Got Tougher Before Kickoff
The buildup to Sundays game in Seattle took another turn when both the Cardinals and Seahawks released injury reports that underscored how thin the margin could be in Week 9. Arizona is preparing to move forward with Gardner Minshew at quarterback after trading Jacoby Brissett, while Seattle will be without Sam Darnold and turn to Drew Lock instead. With both teams managing health issues on the eve of kickoff, the final roster decisions could matter as much as the matchup itself.
Arizonas report also included some notable names on rest days, while Walter Nolen was back at practice, giving the Cardinals a clearer picture of who might be available when they get to game day. The Seahawks, meanwhile, are dealing with their own quarterback uncertainty and will have to piece together a plan around Lock as they try to hold serve at home. Before the teams finalize everything for Sunday, the injury list has already made this one feel a little more complicated than it did a day ago. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Win Is Hitting Cowboys Fans Even Harder Now
The Cowboys loss to the Cardinals has only deepened the unease around a season that already feels like it is slipping away. At 3-5, Dallas is trying to steady itself after another damaging defeat, and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams has been leaning on the same message in the aftermath: the defense has to execute better, starting with the next chance against the Indianapolis Colts.
Not everyone is hearing that message as a reset. Skip Bayless took aim at the Cowboys performance and Williams repeated use of the word execute in an interview, turning the postgame discussion into another round of criticism for a team that keeps finding new ways to invite it. For Arizona, the win is already in the books, but for Dallas, the fallout is still growing. [Read more 🡒]
Trey McBride Is Taking Cardinals Tight End History Somewhere Jackie Smith Never Could
Jackie Smith helped define what a modern tight end could be after the St. Louis Cardinals drafted him in 1963, and his 15-season NFL career still stands as part of the franchise's long memory at the position. But the Cardinals have now moved into a different era with Trey McBride, whose rise has given the team a new benchmark at tight end and put his name alongside the most productive pass-catchers at the spot in league history.
McBride has already pushed past previous team standards and given Arizona something it had never really had before at tight end: sustained, top-tier volume year after year. The bigger significance is not just the record book entry, but how far he has carried the position for this franchise, with his latest run leaving the Cardinals with a new history to measure against and one more milestone still hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]