The Philadelphia Eagles lost some pieces of the defense this offseason.
Philadelphia had the best defense in football in 2024 and that’s obviously a big reason why the team went on to win Super Bowl LIX over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The pass rush specifically was dominant. Josh Sweat was someone who played a big role. Sweat finished the regular season with eight sacks, 41 total tackles, and 15 quarterback hits. He had one of the best games of his career in the Super Bowl. Sweat was dominant from the jump and finished the day with 2 1/2 sacks and six total tackles. His performance was so good that there was a real argument that he could've won the Super Bowl MVP award.
Sweat left the franchise in free agency in a not-so-shocking move this offseason, though. Sweat signed a four-year, $76.4 million deal to join the Arizona Cardinals.
Clearly, he turned heads last year. The former Eagles star nabbed the No. 95 spot on the NFL's top 100 players for the 2025 season list.
"Sweat might have made the list on his Super Bowl performance alone," NFL.com's Bobby Kownack wrote. "He was the most damaging of Philadelphia’s game-wrecking pass rushers, leading the defense with six quarterback pressures and 2.5 sacks as the Eagles thwarted the Chiefs’ three-peat dreams. He then cashed in this offseason with the Cardinals. If history serves, Sweat should excel for a largely remade front seven -- he is reuniting with former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, under whom he had 18.5 sacks and a Pro Bowl appearance from 2021-22.
"NFL Pro Insight for Sweat: Josh Sweat led the Eagles with 8.0 sacks and was second on the team with 15 QB hits in 2024. Sweat is one of six edge rushers with four-plus sacks and 10-plus QB hits each of the last six seasons (Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Brian Burns, Montez Sweat)."
The Eagles were fortunate to have Sweat as long as they did and now they will have to find a way to replace his production.
