Eagles Rumors: Josh Sweat Subject of Trade Calls Ahead of 2024 NFL Free Agency

Having previously given Haason Reddick permission to seek a trade, the Philadelphia Eagles also appear to be open to dealing Josh Sweat.

Per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, the Eagles have had trade calls about the 26-year-old edge-rusher.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported the Eagles plan to "aggressively pursue" Bryce Huff in free agency.

Per NFL Network's James Palmer, the Eagles are optimistic about Nolan Smith going into his second season after he had a "maintenance procedure" on his shoulder earlier this offseason.

Reddick received permission to seek a trade last month, though he explained it didn't come from him asking out of Philadelphia.

This is shaping up to be an offseason of change for the Eagles. They did retain Nick Sirianni as head coach, but revamped the staff around him. Kellen Moore is coming in to replace Brian Johnson as offensive coordinator. Vic Fangio has been hired as their new defensive coordinator.

Fangio's hiring, in particular, suggests the Eagles might be changing their approach to building a defense. That unit collapsed down the stretch last season thanks in large part to horrendous play from the linebackers and issues in the secondary.

The system Fangio has used throughout his career emphasizes linebackers and safeties. Huff has experience playing in a Fangio-style system with Robert Saleh over the past three seasons with the New York Jets.

Huff is a fascinating free-agent test case. On a per-snap basis, he played like one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL last season. The 25-year-old had 21 quarterback hits and 10 sacks, but he played more than 50 percent of the defensive snaps in only three games.

Teams that really like Huff could assume those numbers look even better if you make him a full-time player. But there's also the risk of overpaying for someone who benefited from playing on a Jets defensive line that had a lot of talent teams were more focused on taking out of games, giving him easier opportunities to put up numbers.

Here is what NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal wrote when ranking Huff as the 20th-best free agent available this offseason:

"It's hard to know where to rank Huff. His per-snap pass-rush numbers over the last two years make him look like a cross between Lawrence Taylor and God, but the Jets never trusted him to play every down. A pass-rush specialist with a first step as fast as Huff's should get paid, regardless."

While keeping Reddick and Sweat, who were the team's most productive pass-rushers last season, to build around them would seem like the smartest path back to success on defense, they also have a window to bring back a nice return in a trade for either one.

It would seem unlikely the Eagles trade away both Reddick and Sweat unless they want to completely rebuild everything on defense, though Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted they will be aggressive if the situation presents itself.

The cap savings for trading either or both are very minimal. Reddick will save the Eagles $1.3 million if he's moved prior to June 1. That figure does jump up to $16 million if they waited to trade him until after June 1.

In fact, if Sweat were traded before June 1, it would actually cost the Eagles $5.4 million against the cap. A post-June 1 trade would only save them $4.3 million.

Sweat is going into the final season of his contract. The 26-year-old tied his career-high with 23 quarterback hits and recorded 6.5 sacks in 2023. He has spent his entire career in Philadelphia after being selected in the fourth round out of Florida State in 2018.