How Eagles' Josh Sweat went from a devastating knee injury to a $42 million contract
Martin FrankRichard Morgan knew it was bad as soon as he saw Josh Sweat's knee collapse on an extra-point try, when one of Sweat's teammates dove head first trying to block a kick and crashed helmet first into Sweat's knee.
This was seven years ago last week, when Sweat was at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia. At the time, Sweat was rated the No. 1 defensive end in the nation by two different recruiting services.
Sweat dislocated his knee, tearing three ligaments.
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"I still have nightmares about that," said Morgan, who was Sweat's coach at Oscar Smith. "It was just awful, probably one of the worst experiences a coach can ever have. It was just a freak thing. I had never seen an injury like that before, and I haven't seen it since. I hope I never do."
Look at Sweat now.
The Eagles' defensive end signed a three-year extension worth as much as $42 million last Saturday, with $27 million guaranteed.
That doesn't surprise anyone who saw Sweat play before the injury. It was just a matter of time.
And yes, the injury prolonged that timeline.
“At one point, I didn’t know if I was going to play again,” Sweat said after Eagles' practice Saturday as they prepared for their Monday night game against the Dallas Cowboys. “Then going through all the rehab, it takes so many years just to get back to feeling 80 percent.
"Now I’m good to go. I have no issues, I haven’t had issues for years now."
Sweat, who's 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, is an integral part of the Eagles' defensive line, especially now that Brandon Graham was lost for the season with a torn Achilles during the Eagles' 17-11 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday.
"For a dude that big to be able to play that sudden, that violent, that kind of pad level with that kind of bend, I know as pass rushers we really appreciate that," defensive end Ryan Kerrigan said. "Couple that with good, crafty skills, I think is one of the reasons he got paid."
But Sweat's seven-year journey from a torn-up knee to that big second contract was hardly smooth or preordained.
So it was easy for Sweat to reflect upon that after signing his contract.
"Sometimes I do let it slip my mind about how far I have come," he said. "After signing the (extension), that’s when I really reflected."
Making the most of college
The injury happened about six weeks before national signing day. Sweat was being heavily recruited by practically every major college football team in the nation.
Needless to say, some backed off after the injury. Florida State did not. In fact, Sweat not only worked diligently on his rehab, he did so in his academics, too, so he could graduate in December and thus enroll at FSU in January.
That, in turn, gave him access to the football team's facilities, where he could work with athletic trainers instead of on his own back home.
Sweat worked so hard that he didn't even need to redshirt as a freshman. Sweat played 12 games as a true freshman and had 2.0 sacks.
Sweat had 7 sacks as a sophomore and 5.5 sacks as a junior. Still, there were concerns from NFL teams about his rebuilt knee.
"He was a first-round talent, easy," Morgan said. "I'm watching him play in college and I'm saying, 'What knee injury?' You couldn't tell."
The Eagles drafted Sweat in the fourth round. Sweat finished his rookie season on injured reserve because of an ankle injury. But Sweat needed that time to adjust to the NFL.
"I looked terrible," Sweat said in August about his rookie season. "I was just running around. I didn’t know what I was doing ... Now it’s pretty much natural, so I don’t have to think anymore."
Sweat, who comes off as quiet and reserved to the media, is anything but shy around his teammates.
"He ain't as shy as people think," fellow defensive lineman Javon Hargrave said. "He's really goofy, always cracking jokes and always and picking on people. So he's definitely a funny character."
Getting more playing time
But Sweat is also serious about improving.
In 2019, Sweat played 34% of the snaps and had 4 sacks. He had 6 sacks last season while playing 38% of the snaps.
So far this season, Sweat doesn't have any sacks in two games. He is playing 47% of the snaps this season, although he played just 40% last Sunday against the 49ers.
That seemed a bit low, especially after Graham left the game in the second quarter.
"How the game kind of unfolded, that's why you saw his play count a little bit down," defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. "With saying that, when he was in the game, he affected the game in a positive way and played winning football. And you will continue to see Josh Sweat do that."
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni saw Sweat's potential beginning in the spring practices. Sweat was even better in training camp.
"You look at guys and you're, like, ‘That guy can ball,’" Sirianni said. "And you get around him at practice and you see what type of person, leader and player he is. Right away, he passed the look test."
Putting a hurting on Hurts
Sweat had already passed that test with quarterback Jalen Hurts four years ago.
Back on Sept. 2, 2017, Hurts was a sophomore quarterback for No. 1 ranked Alabama, which was opening the season against No. 3 Florida State in Atlanta. The Tide had just won the national championship the season before behind Hurts as a true freshman.
Sweat was entering his junior year, on a defense that also featured safety Derwin James, who was a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers the following spring. Sweat sacked Hurts and helped keep Florida State in the game in the Seminoles' 24-7 loss.
"I’m happy to have him here, and here for a longer amount of time with his extension," Hurts said. "Congrats to him on that. But he’s a hell of a player. Always been a hell of a player. Always been a disruptive player."
Hurts, who went 10-for-18 passing for 96 yards and ran for 55 more that day, was then asked if he remembered Sweat sacking him.
"I remember it, but I remember us winning, too," he said.
Doing it all
Morgan, who's now the head coach at Marietta High School in Georgia, said there were a lot of games like that when Sweat was at Oscar Smith – and not just on defense.
Sweat played wide receiver and tight end on offense. He was also the punter.
"He was a really good punter," Morgan said. "He was also our best receiver."
In fact, Morgan said in the game Sweat was injured, he had already scored on a 70-yard reception on a post pattern. He also had two sacks. All of that was in less than two quarters of play.
"He was just a really dominant player," Morgan said. "He was such a hard worker. I'm telling you that he could play tight end for the Eagles right now if they asked him to."
That work ethic applied to Sweat's rehab, too.
Morgan said within a week of the injury, Sweat was lifting weights and working on getting motion in his knee. He had the surgery later in the fall, graduated early, then was rehabbing at Florida State in January.
So it was hardly a surprise that Sweat had worked his way into a prominent role on the defensive line, to the point where the Eagles decided to give Sweat a contract extension over Derek Barnett, the Eagles' first-round pick in 2017.
Barnett, who is making $10 million this season, could be headed for free agency after the season. Sweat, at least, isn't going anywhere.
"I’ve come a long way, and I’m still going," Sweat said. "I got a lot more I want to do. Now, I want to be the best.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.