Latest news with #JoshSweat
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon and DE Josh Sweat on the defender's acclimation to team
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive end Josh Sweat on the defender's acclimation to the team and learning from his teammates.
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
7 Bold NFL predictions for the 2025 Season
The 2025 NFL season is still a few months away, but rosters are largely set as teams get to work in training camp. While injuries, training camp battles, and early signs from breakout players can influence a team's outlook, now is a good time for some bold NFL predictions. As training camp gets underway, we're offering a few bold predictions for what could happen this season. Arizona Cardinals win the NFC West The Arizona Cardinals showed some early promise in 2024, with a four-game winning streak midway through the season that put them at 6-4 heading into the bye. They lost five of their next six games, finishing the year 8-9. It was a learning opportunity for a young team—one that is poised to take a big leap forward in 2025. Arizona added significant talent on defense for head coach Jonathan Gannon, including Josh Sweat, Walter Nolen, and Dalvin Tomlinson. It's enough of an improvement that, if rookie cornerback Will Johnson can stay healthy, this could be a top-15 defense. Now pair that with an offense that finished 10th in EPA per Play (0.067) and seventh in yards per play (5.9), and you have a well-rounded team that could overtake both the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers to win the NFC West. Tampa Bay Buccaneers earn No. 1 seed in the NFC Finishing as the top-seeded NFC team can have a lot to do with the schedule you draw that year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might not be better than the Detroit Lions or Philadelphia Eagles in a head-to-head matchup. However, the Lions have six games against NFC North opponents and matchups against the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs and the Eagles. Philadelphia has a much tougher schedule, but it's reasonable to expect slight regression from the reigning Super Bowl champions. That could clear a path for Tampa Bay to earn the NFC's No. 1 seed. The Buccaneers are strong enough to potentially sweep all six NFC South games. They should also be clear favorites against the New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, and Miami Dolphins. If Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers' offense, one of the league's best last season, can manage a few more wins against the Cardinals, Texans, and Rams, there is a realistic path to 12 or more wins and home-field advantage. Washington Commanders don't make the playoffs Jayden Daniels is an MVP-caliber quarterback, and the Washington Commanders did right by him this offseason with the additions of Deebo Samuel, Laremy Tunsil, and Josh Conerly Jr. We're also confident Washington will work out a new extension with Terry McLaurin, avoiding a saga that could linger into the regular season. However, Washington experienced remarkable fortune last season to achieve a 12-win season. The reality is that the Commanders' roster is still league-average at best. The Commanders also face the NFC North this season, in addition to matchups against the Chiefs, Denver Broncos, and the Los Angeles Chargers. While we expect Daniels to play like a top-10 quarterback, the team's results this season will likely be nine wins and no playoff appearance. Derrick Henry wins Offensive Player of the Year Derrick Henry is on a mission for 2,000 rushing yards this season. He probably would've reached that total in 2024, but a slow start in his first two games (130 rushing yards total) prevented him from reaching it. In his final 15 games last year, Henry averaged 119.4 rushing yards per game, a pace of 2,030 rushing yards in a season. We've learned not to be on Father Time slowing him down; he's simply a unicorn in that regard. Baltimore will help Henry on his mission for a 2,000-yard season, getting him over that mark in Week 18. Throw in 20 total touchdowns and he'll take home Offensive Player of the Year. Bo Nix finishes top-8 in NFL MVP voting After an adjustment period early in his rookie season, Bo Nix looked like a high-end starting quarterback who fits perfectly in Sean Payton's offense. The Broncos' signal-caller posted a 28-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio with a 103.2 QB rating and a 68.3 percent completion rate in his final 13 regular-season games, adding 320 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Denver bolstered its support this offseason by signing tight end Evan Engram and strengthening the backfield with RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins. With one of the best NFL defenses in 2025, Denver is poised to win 11 or more games, and Nix's stat line in this offense should easily help him finish in the top eight for NFL MVP. Related: Geno Smith finishes top-10 in QB rating Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith remains one of the most underrated players in the NFL right now. He had some issues with interceptions (15) last season, but that was largely a byproduct of being constantly under siege behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league. Even under duress at an alarming rate, he completed 70.4 percent of his passes, threw for 4,320 yards, and posted a 93.2 QB rating. Smith now gets to funnel targets to All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers, while the receiving corps of Jakobi Meyers, Tre Tucker, and Jack Bech offers complementary skill sets. Most importantly, a strong run game and an improved offensive line will allow Smith to post a 100-plus QB rating this season. Minnesota Vikings reach the NFC Championship Game The Minnesota Vikings had most of the infrastructure necessary last season to be an elite team. Unfortunately for Kevin O'Connell, the offensive line and a quarterback who panicked under pressure proved to be the team's undoing. To address that, Minnesota overhauled the interior of the line this offseason by adding Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly, and Will Fries. The Vikings are poised to have one of the best NFL offensive lines in 2025. O'Connell also has a loaded group of offensive weapons capable of making big plays and consistently executing their assignments. On top of all that, Minnesota boasts an elite defense. How far this team goes will depend largely on J.J. McCarthy. In what will effectively be his rookie season, he is expected to put it all together late and help the Vikings make a run to the NFC Championship Game as a wild card team.
USA Today
28-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Cardinals training camp: OLB competition for playing time after Josh Sweat TBD
Josh Sweat is the known lead dog at OLB. How will the rest of the EDGE rotation play out in training camp? The Arizona Cardinals have a number of notable position battles as they have begun training camp. Some battles are for starting jobs, while others are for key reserve spots. A pair of positions believed to have key battles — right guard and "Mike" linebacker — seem to be set with new starters. Others, though, have intrigue. Cardinals training camp position battle: Outside linebacker This year's competition is a matter of playing time. The Cardinals signed Josh Sweat to a four-year $76.4 million contract in free agency, so he is officially the top guy. They also re-signed Baron Browning to a two-year deal and drafted Jordan Burch in the third round this year. BJ Ojulari missed all last season with a torn ACL and, while he is currently on PUP to start camp, he should be back. Xavier Thomas, drafted in the fifth round in 2024, returns as well. Now, the Cardinals will rotate players. The question is how much each will play. Sweat is the best overall player of the group. He is violent in the run game, sets the edge well and is the most productive pass rusher. Collins led the team in sacks last year with five, but he is great at all the other parts of playing the edge in the Cardinals' defense. Ojulari is the best pass-rushing talent but isn't healthy, while Browning also has pass-rushing juice. Can Burch make an impact as a rookie? Can Thomas grow in his role? Right now, Sweat and Collins figure to be the starters in the Cardinals' base defense, but the rotations and player usage in different packages will be interesting to watch in practices and in preseason games. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
USA Today
26-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL minds are shifting as the Eagles defense lands among the best in a ranking for 2025
NFL analysts are coming around, as an overstated theory about the Eagles' defense is going away Every professional football team experiences the same thing as one calendar year bleeds into another. There's a Senior Bowl and an NFL Combine. Free agency comes. Then, we dive further into draft season. Top 30 Visits and Pro Days eventually led the Philadelphia Eagles and each of the other 31 teams to another NFL Draft. As expected, Philadelphia lost a lot of talent during the free agency frenzy. Josh Sweat, Darius Slay, Milton Williams, Oren Burks, Avonte Maddox, and Isaiah Rodgers all landed elsewhere. C.J. Gardner-Johnson was traded away, and that's just what the Birds lost on the defensive side of the ball. It was for that reason that many thought a team that dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 would take a step backward months later when another campaign began. But, that's par for the course in the National Football League on a year-in and year-out basis. Plus, there's this to consider. No disrespect is intended, but hasn't Philadelphia proved they can win and play well on defense without all of those guys? Few juggle rosters like Howie Roseman. Few organizations navigate roster turnover as well as Philadelphia's front office. Howie Roseman and company bounced back from losing so many pieces by stocking up through the NFL Draft and by signing low-risk, high-reward players to one-year contracts. No one knows if Adoree' Jackson, Azeez Ojulari, Josh Uche, and Ogbo Okoronkwo are better or worse than what Philadelphia lost at each of those players' respective positions. That remains to be seen, so if we can't state that, we can't say Vic Fangio's defense has definitively taken a massive step in the wrong direction, as many have suggested. Editor at Large, Gennaro Filice, understands that. He recently ranked the NFL's top ten defenses. The Eagles land just short of the top spot, finishing second behind only the Denver Broncos. The Super Bowl champs suffered substantial defensive attrition this offseason, losing three full-time starters (OLB Josh Sweat, CB Darius Slay and S C.J. Gardner-Johnson), a budding star (DT Milton Williams) and one of the most beloved Eagles of the 21st century (OLB Brandon Graham). And yet, I won't be the least bit surprised if Vic Fangio fields the NFL's stingiest defense for a second consecutive season. He's right, you know. Despite the losses, the Eagles still have one of the best collections of young talent in all of pro football. Everyone else can expect attrition to cause shockwaves. We'll bank on Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Zack Baun, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and others. Philadelphia added studs like Jihaad Campbell, Andrew Mukuba, Ty Robinson, Smael Mondon, and Mac McWilliams during the 2025 NFL Draft. There is nothing to fear here. They aren't rebuilding. They're reloading. Coach Fangio has plenty of talent to work with. Perhaps Filice puts it best. "Bottom line: While the Eagles must replace a number of key cogs from last season's dominant D, Howie Roseman has hoarded enough talent to achieve a smooth transition." Again, we agree. Our prediction? Philadelphia's defense finishes the campaign with a top-five finish overall. That's our story. We're sticking to it. This is about to be a massive season for the defending champs (even if they don't want to be called that).
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFL Top 100: Arizona Cardinals player to be revealed this week in players No. 61-70
So far, one Arizona Cardinals player has been revealed in this year's "NFL Top 100." That was new Cardinals outside linebacker Josh Sweat, who came in at No. 95 after his eight-sack season in 2024. Another is coming up. According to Cards Wire's Howard Balzer, one Cardinals player will be among the 10 players revealed this week between No. 61-70. Who could that be? One would figure it will either be safety Budda Baker or tight end Trey McBride. McBride is coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he caught 111 passes. Baker made the Pro Bowl for the sixth consecutive season. He was No. 89 in the top 100 last year. Two players are revealed in reverse order each weekday through August 29, with the top 10 being revealed on Sept. 1. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts. This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals player to be named in ;NFL Top 100' this week
