The Philadelphia Eagles' rout of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX was a group effort, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The whole unit came together under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to play essentially a perfect game of football, dominating Patrick Mahomes & Co. until the game was well out of reach.
But if there were any individual player who deserves praise from the collectively excellent performance, it was Josh Sweat, who recorded 2.5 sacks of Mahomes and was living in the K.C. backfield all evening.
It was a clutch time to have such a performance, obviously, but it was also very timely financially. The seventh-year linebacker is set to hit free agency in March; he restructured his contract to end following this season in exchange for a pay cut. It's a bet that should pay huge dividends—but for Sweat, the fit is more important than the bottom line.
Here's what Sweat had to say about his impending entry onto the open market, via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer:
“Money’s important, sure, but I want to be in the right situation," Sweat said. “I don’t know what it looks like for me now, but I’m happy."
For the season, Sweat recorded eight sacks in his first year in Fangio's system. It marked the second-best season of his career in regards to sack production, and was overall his best year since 2022. There should be plenty of interest around the league in Sweat—and after Sunday's dominant showing, plenty of interest from the Eagles in retaining him, as well.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Super Bowl Hero Josh Sweat Addresses Looming Free Agency After Dominant Performance.
