The Josh Sweat buzz around Green Bay might have sounded good for a minute, but according to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, it’s not happening.
“Based on what I heard earlier this week, I can confidently say that Josh Sweat is not going to be a Packer. Not now, not ever. Brian Gutekunst has not had a single conversation with the Arizona Cardinals about Josh Sweat.”
That’s a pretty firm shutdown, and it leaves the Packers with a different kind of question as they wait on Micah Parsons’ return: where does the pass rush come from in the meantime?
One answer showed up Friday night in the preseason finale. Dani Dennis-Sutton, the rookie who had missed the first two exhibition games, stepped into the spotlight against the Arizona Cardinals and made a real case for more snaps once the games count.
If the Packers had gone out and traded for Sweat, the conversation around their edge group would look very different. Sweat is a former Pro Bowler, and his best football has come in Jonathan Gannon’s defense, including last season when he posted a career-high 12 sacks. Put him next to Parsons in a win-now year, and that’s the kind of pairing that can tilt a season.
But there’s another side to this. Holding off on a veteran addition could leave room for Dennis-Sutton to grow into a real role.
He made the most of Friday’s opportunity. Dennis-Sutton got his first Packers sack on Arizona’s opening drive and kept wrecking plays the rest of the night.
Ross Uglem of Packer Report summed it up simply: “Dennis-Sutton was absolutely cooking people. Goodness,”
The numbers back that up. Per Pro Football Focus, he logged five pressures on 22 pass-rush snaps, along with a sack and a QB hit. His 31.8 percent win rate ranked fifth among all qualifying edge defenders in the preseason.
Yes, it came against backup linemen. But that’s still the kind of performance you want to see from a rookie trying to force his way into the picture.
Dennis-Sutton also brings more than just burst off the edge. He’s already shown he can defend the run, and he’s got the kind of athletic traits that make him interesting as a long-term piece. He’ll also be learning in a system that has helped edge rushers blossom, while getting to work alongside Parsons, someone he already knows from Penn State.
That’s where the Sweat angle gets interesting. His biggest production has come in Gannon’s defense, and the same has been true for Javon Hargrave. The Packers may be betting that Dennis-Sutton can follow a similar path.
Sweat would have been a major addition. No question.
But if the Packers stay put, they may be clearing the runway for a rookie who just flashed real upside when the lights were on. Dennis-Sutton will need to contribute this season, and if he keeps building on Friday’s showing, the need to chase another pass rusher could fade fast.
In Other News...
Packers Get Another Look At A Running Back They Wanted First
Damon Bankston is back on the market, and that gives the Packers another chance to revisit a player they already spent time with before the 2026 draft. The running back originally visited Green Bay, then later signed with the Giants after going undrafted, and now his release opens the door for a team that clearly had him on its radar once already.
Bankston comes with the kind of college production and athletic profile that can keep a name in circulation even after a winding path through the spring. For the Packers, the interest is easy to understand, especially with roster and practice-squad spots always in flux this time of year, but there is no indication yet that anything has been finalized. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Clearly Won This Trade As The Other Side Unravels
When the Packers sent defensive lineman Colby Wooden to Indianapolis in exchange for linebacker Zaire Franklin, it looked like the kind of swap both sides could live with. Franklin has settled in as Green Bays starting middle linebacker and even earned a captaincy, giving the defense a veteran presence in the middle and a clear sign that the Packers viewed him as more than a short-term fix.
The Colts, meanwhile, have announced they will waive Wooden, whose 2025 role in Green Bay included starting at nose tackle. His next stop is now up in the air, and it only adds to the sense that this is one of those trades where Green Bay got the more stable part of the deal while the other side is still trying to sort out what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Just Created A New QB Depth Problem After Trading Kyle McCord
Kyle McCords strong preseason in Green Bay had started to make him look like more than just a camp arm, which is why his move to Miami stood out as more than a routine transaction. The Packers sent McCord to the Dolphins for a 2028 sixth-round pick, a deal that came after Miami had already moved backup quarterback Quinn Ewers to the Jacksonville Jaguars and turned over its own reserve depth chart.
For Green Bay, the bigger issue is what comes next. McCords departure leaves the Packers needing another quarterback for the practice squad, and it creates a small but real depth question at a spot teams prefer not to improvise with once the summer roster churn starts to settle. Even when the trade return is modest and the timing is simple enough to explain, losing a preseason performer can force a team to rethink how it wants to protect the most important position on the roster. [Read more 🡒]