The Cowboys are shaping up as one of the teams to watch as the trade deadline approaches, and the name now tied to Dallas is a familiar one: Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that there is interest in Sweat and pointed directly to Dallas as a club worth monitoring. The timing matters, too, because the Cowboys will get a first-hand look at him when they host Arizona.
"There is interest in Cardinals OLB Josh Sweat, per sources. A team to watch with Sweat is the Cowboys, who will get an up-close look at him today, when Dallas hosts Arizona," Schefter reports.
Dallas has already made a move this season by dealing for Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that may not be the end of its deadline activity. With the NFC East wide open after the Philadelphia Eagles' collapse, Jerry Jones could still be looking for another swing.
That would make sense given the state of the Cowboys’ defense. The team already has a solid edge-rushing group that includes Rashan Gary, Von Miller, James Houston, Donovan Ezeiruaku, and Malachi Lawrence, but another proven pass rusher would give the front even more juice.
Sweat would bring plenty of that. The 29-year-old is signed for the next couple of seasons, and he won’t come cheap. Arizona is expected to ask for significant compensation for a player who, despite a 2.0-sack start to the 2026 season in seven games, still carries real value.
He’s a former Pro Bowler with multiple double-digit sack seasons, including a 12-sack campaign with the Cardinals in 2025. For a Dallas defense that has struggled this year, that kind of production would be a major boost.
The obstacle is the cost. The Cowboys do not have much draft capital to work with, which could make a deal difficult. Even so, Schefter’s report keeps Dallas firmly in the mix as a team to watch in the Sweat market this fall.
In Other News...
Cowboys Latest Collapse Drew A Brutal Critique They Couldn't Ignore
Another home loss left the Cowboys staring at a 3-5 record, and the postgame tone around the building was as bleak as the finish. Brian Schottenheimer talked about personal responsibility after the overtime defeat, while Dak Prescott stepped in to defend his coach as the criticism started to pile up around a team that keeps finding new ways to let games slip away.
Mike Tomlin added to that pressure from the Sunday Night Football broadcast, calling out Dallas for a lack of urgency and execution. For a Cowboys team already trying to steady itself after another collapse, hearing that kind of blunt assessment from an opposing coach only sharpened the scrutiny and underscored how little room there is left for excuses. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Just Lost Their Biggest Trade Hope On Defense
The pass-rush market always gets noisy when a contender starts looking for help, and Maxx Crosby had become one of the bigger names floating around that conversation for Dallas. But ESPNs Adam Schefter reported that Crosby is happy in Las Vegas and is not looking for a trade, which takes one of the Cowboys most intriguing defensive possibilities off the board for now. The Raiders, for their part, are not planning to move him at the 2026 NFL trade deadline.
For a Cowboys team still searching for ways to bolster its edge rush, that leaves the front office back in the familiar position of scanning the market and weighing other options. Dallas has been connected to players such as Josh Sweat, but Crosby was the kind of impact target that could have changed the conversation. Instead, the Cowboys will have to keep looking while the Raiders keep one of their defensive centerpieces right where he is. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Make A Surprising Week 8 Call As Key Help Returns
The Cowboys Week 8 inactive list brought a little surprise before kickoff against the Cardinals, with a recent draft pick among the healthy scratches even as the team got some important help back on the field. Dallas also has several other players unavailable because of injury or roster decisions, but the biggest takeaway from the list is that the roster is getting a boost at a time when every available body matters.
George Pickens and Kenny Clark are both active for the matchup, giving Dallas two notable pieces back in the mix as it tries to manage the early-season grind. The decision on Revel Jr. stands out all the more because of where he sits in the teams long-term plans, and it leaves one of the more interesting questions from the pregame shuffle hanging over how the Cowboys are sorting out their depth. [Read more 🡒]