It appears the Green Bay Packers won’t have an opportunity to trade for Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat after all.

In recent days, there was a rumor was floating around that the Packers were working on a trade for the Cardinals edge rusher.

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However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday that the Cardinals are not trading the veteran, and Rapoport specifically mentioned the Packers.

“This has gained some steam on social media, so just to provide some clarity: Cardinals edge rusher Josh Sweat is not being traded,” he said. “Not to the Packers or anywhere. Carry on.”

Rapoport is the second NFL reporter to disconnect the Packers from Sweat in recent days.

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The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman was the other.

“Sorry to rain on the parade, but I’m told (general manager) Brian Gutekunst hasn’t discussed a Josh Sweat trade with anyone. Not a thing at this point,” Schneidman reported.

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Explaining Josh Sweat trade buzz

Trade buzz surrounding Josh Sweat kicked up after a report from Cardinals insider Kyle Odegard said the veteran wasn’t happy in Arizona.

“Don’t know the exact reason for the absence, but I’ve been hearing for awhile that Josh Sweat is not particularly happy in AZ,” Odegard reported.

If true, there’s a few reasons why that might be the case.

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The Cardinals are coming off a losing season and are in the midst of a rebuild, something Sweat might not want to sit through.

Sweat also has no more guaranteed money on his contract after this season and likely wants to fix that issue.

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Why Green Bay Packers need an edge rusher

The Green Bay Packers are in a rough spot at edge rusher right now.

It remains unclear if Micah Parsons will be ready for the start of the 2026 NFL campaign after he suffered a torn ACL late last season.

Green Bay also subtracted from its edge rushers room by trading Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys back in March.

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Now, the Packers are left with an edge rushers room that doesn’t have a single player who finished with more than 1.5 sacks last season.

That’s bad news for a Green Bay team in a division that has some talented passing attacks.

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Packers’ free agent options at edge rusher

There Green Bay Packers still have some decent options available on the NFL free-agent market.

That list includes Haason Reddick, Joey Bosa, Von Miller, Cameron Jordan and Jadeveon Clowney.

Jordan and Miller are both long in the tooth, but they did post 10.5 and nine sacks, respectively, last season.

Clowney finished with 8.5, while Reddick had 2.5 and Bosa had five.

With the situation the Packers have at edge rusher right now, any of the five would be welcomed in Green Bay.