Josh Sweat Admits He's Ready to Take Over for Chris Long After Frustrating First Season With Eagles

After a rough for year that featured just 68 defensive snaps and a season-ending ankle injury, Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat has much more confidence heading into his second year. The former Florida State Seminole jumped directly into Philadelphia's defense after being taken in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft.

The Eagles defensive end position is currently wide open after a trade sent Michael Bennett to the New England Patriots and Chris Long announced his retirement from football. Sweat, who's been able to fully recover from his ankle injury and impress in the Eagles' offseason program, is now looking to take over the DE position in Jim Schwartz's defense.

Sweat realizes that his rookie season was seen as a disappointment. "It was very frustrating," Sweat said.

Now, Sweat's being praised by his coaches and looks like the No. 1 option to replace Long. Through the nine games he appeared in last season, Sweat was able to learn a few things from the two-time Super Bowl winner.

"He helped me a lot while he was here," Sweat said about Long. "We haven't really reached out to each other or anything like that, but I still learned a lot from him and everybody else from last year."

The 22 year-old is "in a great place right now," according to Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.

In the next six weeks Sweat plans to prove himself even more, improve his explosiveness and agility, as well as tack on another 20 pounds.