Dallas Cowboys fans have watched their team search for a pass rush since Micah Parsons left town, and CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns has a name in mind before the November 10 trade deadline. He wants Dallas to go after Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat, who had 2.5 sacks in Super Bowl LIX for the Eagles.
Arizona isn’t selling, at least publicly. “We have no interest in trading Josh,” Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said in August. That was before a 2-4 start. Dallas is also 2-4, and one NFL general manager already expects Jerry Jones to make more moves at the deadline after the trade for cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Why Sweat fits what Dallas is missing
The sack column explains the push. Dallas has eight sacks through six games, among the lowest totals in the league. Rashan Gary had nine pressures in Sunday night’s 23-13 loss at Green Bay but no sacks, according to PFF, and Donovan Ezeiruaku has half a sack all season. Parsons’ presence at Lambeau may have fired the group up, but the Cowboys turned 24 pressures into three sacks, according to PFF.
Sweat has been better than his two sacks suggest. He graded out at 79.5 in Arizona’s 18-16 win over the Rams on Sunday, with a sack and a quarterback hit on 27 pass-rush snaps, according to PFF. He and safety Budda Baker accounted for both of Arizona’s sacks on 16 pressures that day, according to PFF. Sweat also has three tackles for loss and 14 tackles in six games.
Bahns believes Dallas could land him for a couple of draft picks, and he points to Sweat’s contract control as part of the appeal. A defense that has come under fire after Lambeau would add a proven closer next to Gary and Quinnen Williams, who had five pressures and a sack Sunday, according to PFF.
The schedule adds a wrinkle. Dallas visits Philadelphia, the franchise Sweat helped win a title, on Monday night, October 26. Arizona then comes to AT&T Stadium on November 1, so the Cowboys will see Sweat up close before the deadline whether or not Ossenfort’s August stance holds.
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