.jpg) Swearinger with the Washington Redskins in 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Safety | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1991-09-01)September 1, 1991 (age 34) Greenwood, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Greenwood (SC) | ||||||||||||||
| College | South Carolina (2009–2012) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2013: 2nd round, 57th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Dayarlo Jamal Swearinger Sr. (/ˈswɛərɪndʒər/SWAIR-in-jər;[1] born September 1, 1991) is an American professionalfootballsafety. He playedcollege football atSouth Carolina and was selected by theHouston Texans in the second round of the2013 NFL draft. He has also been a member of theTampa Bay Buccaneers,Arizona Cardinals,Washington Redskins,Oakland Raiders,New Orleans Saints,Indianapolis Colts, andDC Defenders.
Swearinger attendedGreenwood High School inGreenwood, South Carolina, where he played alongside formerSouth Carolina Gamecocks football college teammateKelcy Quarles and Washington Redskins' teammateJosh Norman.[2] A two-way starter for the Greenwood Eaglesfootball team, he rushed for 400 yards and logged 68 tackles and five interceptions as a sophomore. He had 516 rushing yards and nine touchdowns with 93 tackles and an interception as a junior. As a senior, he rushed for 904 yards and 12touchdowns and caught 20 passes for 210 yards as awide receiver. In addition, he also logged 77tackles, broke up eight passes and caused twofumbles as astrong safety. He was named second-team All-State selection byThe State. He was invited to play at the Shrine Bowl Game of the Carolinas, where he had an interception.
Also a standout intrack & field, Swearinger competed in sprints, hurdles and jumps during the off-season as a junior and senior. At the 2009 Regional Meet, he took sixth in the100-meter dash (10.81s), second in the110m hurdles (14.56s) and placed first in thehigh jump (6-2 or 1.88m).[3]
Regarded as a three-star prospect, Swearinger was considered the 20th-bestsafety in the nation and the 14th-best prospect in the state ofSouth Carolina byRivals.com. He was also rated as a three-star prospect and the nation's 82nd-best safety according toScout.com. He was considered the state's ninth-best player bySuperPrep, and was named toPrepStar's All-Atlantic Region squad. Swearinger originally committed toTennessee and also had an offer fromNorth Carolina, among others.
Swearinger received an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of South Carolina, where he played for coachSteve Spurrier'sSouth Carolina Gamecocks football team from 2009 to 2012. During his college career, he started 33 of 52 games in which he appeared, recording 244 tackles, sixinterceptions and threetouchdowns. Following his senior 2012 season, he was a second-teamAll-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection.
Coming out of South Carolina, Swearinger was projected to be a second or third round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He received an invitation to the NFL combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills. On March 27, 2013, he participated at South Carolina's pro day, along withMarcus Lattimore,Devin Taylor,Ace Sanders,T. J. Johnson,Justice Cunningham,DeVonte Holloman,Akeem Auguste, and ten other prospects.[4] Team representatives and scouts from 31 NFL teams attended as Swearinger opted to run his 40-yard dash (4.65), 20-yard dash (2.68), and 10-yard dash (1.52) again, while also performing positional drills.[5] He was ranked the fourth best free safety prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, the fourth best safety by NFL analystMike Mayock, and was ranked the fifth best safety prospect bySports Illustrated.[6][7]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m) | 208 lb (94 kg) | 32+3⁄8 in (0.82 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.65 s | 1.52 s | 2.68 s | 4.11 s | 6.70 s | 37 in (0.94 m) | 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) | 17 reps | 28[8] |
| All values are fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[9][10] | ||||||||||||
TheHouston Texans selected Swearinger in the second round (57th overall) of the2013 NFL draft. Swearinger was the fifth safety selected in the 2013 NFL draft.[11]
On July 22, 2013, the Houston Texans signed Swearinger to a four–year, $3.49 million contract.[12]
He competed withEd Reed andShiloh Keo throughout training camp for the job as starting free safety. Head coachGary Kubiak named him the third free safety on the Houston Texans' depth chart to begin the regular season.[13]
On August 17, 2013, Swearinger hitMiami Dolphins'tight endDustin Keller's right knee, tearing hisACL,MCL, andPCL, and also dislocating his knee. While some players deemed the hit as "dirty", Swearinger stated that he went low to avoid a fine and the player was not reprimanded by the NFL. Keller was released three days later and never played another down in the NFL.[14][15][16][17][18]
He made his professional regular season debut in theHouston Texans' season-opener against theSan Diego Chargers and recorded two solo tackles in their 31–28 victory. On October 13, 2013, he recorded two solo tackles and the Texans' startingstrong safetyDanieal Manning was injured with a hairline fracture of his right fibula during a 13–28 loss to theSt. Louis Rams. The following week, Swearinger earned his first career start in place of Manning and recorded five solo tackles in a 16–17 loss to theKansas City Chiefs. In a Week 10 matchup against theArizona Cardinals, he recorded three combined tackles, deflected two passes, and caught the first interception of his career, off of a pass attempt byCarson Palmer during the Texans' 24–27 loss. On December 29, 2013, Swearinger recorded a season-high ten combined tackles in a 10–16 loss to theTennessee Titans. After accumulating a 2–11 record, head coach Gary Kubiak was fired. He finished his rookie season with a total of 71 combined tackles (54 solo), made four pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and ten starts.[19] He was ranked the 71st best safety in the NFL out of 86 for the2013 NFL season.[20]
Swearinger competed withEddie Pleasant for the vacant starting strong safety job after Daniel Manning departed during the off season via free agency. New Houston Texans' head coachBill O'Brien named Swearinger the starting strong safety to begin the2014 season.[21]
The next preseason, Swearinger was involved in a hit that caused a concussion onDenver Broncoswide receiverWes Welker.[22] On the following play, Broncos' quarterbackPeyton Manning confronted Swearinger after completing a touchdown pass toEmmanuel Sanders, later resulting in Manning's first fine in his NFL career.[23]
He started theHouston Texans' season-opener against theWashington Redskins' and recorded eight combined tackles and his first career sack onRobert Griffin III during their 17–6 victory.[24] On October 26, 2014, he collected three combined tackles, deflected two passes, and intercepted a pass attempt byTennessee Titans' quarterbackZach Mettenberger during the Texans' 30–16 victory.[25] The next game, he tied his season-high of eight combined tackles, as the Houston Texans lost to thePhiladelphia Eagles 21–31. He finished the season with a career-high 73 combined tackles (51 solo), six pass deflections, two interceptions, and a sack in 12 starts and 16 games.[19]Pro Football Focus ranked him the 78th best safety out of 87 during the 2014 season. Under Defensive CoordinatorRomeo Crennel, he was used as a safety/linebacker hybrid and was primarily used in the box for run support.[20]
On May 11, 2015, theHouston Texans released Swearinger.[26] It was reported they had attempting to trade Swearinger the past few weeks, the main cause being his reluctance to play special teams.[27] He was also involved with multiple incidents including a reported theft involving his truck and his dog biting the Houston Texans' first overall pick in the2014 NFL draft,Jadeveon Clowney (See Personal life).
On May 12, 2015, theTampa Bay Buccaneersclaimed Swearinger off of waivers.[28]
He competed withBrad McDougald andMajor Wright for the Buccaneers' starting strong safety position. Head coachLovie Smith named him the backup strong safety to Major Wright to begin the regular season.[29]
Swearinger made his professional regular season debut in theTampa Bay Buccaneers' season-opening against theTennessee Titans and made five combined tackles in their 14–42 loss. On September 27, 2015, he recorded a season-high six combined tackles in a 9–19 loss to his former team, theHouston Texans. He missed Week 9–10 with a toe injury.[30]
On November 17, 2015, he was waived. During his stint in Tampa Bay, Swearinger was limited to 12 combined tackles (seven solo) in seven games and primarily played on special teams.[31]
On December 1, 2015, Swearinger was signed to theArizona Cardinals'practice squad.[32][33] On December 8, 2015, the Arizona Cardinals promoted him to their active roster withTyrann Mathieu out for the season.[34]On December 10, 2015, he made his Arizona Cardinals' debut during a 23–20 victory over theMinnesota Vikings. The following week, he earned his first start of the season. and recorded three combined tackles and defended a pass, as the Cardinals defeated thePhiladelphia Eagles 40–17. On December 20, 2015, Swearinger made one tackle and forcedJames Starks to fumble during the 38–8 victory over theGreen Bay Packers. He finished the season with seven solo tackles, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble in four games and one start.[19]
On April 18, 2016, theArizona Cardinals signed Swearinger to a one–year, $1.67 million contract.[12]
He entered his first training camp with theArizona Cardinals and competed withTony Jefferson,Tyvon Branch, andMarqui Christian for the job as the starting safety. Head coachBruce Arians named Tony Jefferson the starting strong safety and Swearinger began the regular season as the backup free safety toTyrann Mathieu.[35]
On September 18, 2016, Swearinger recorded a pass deflection and intercepted a pass attempt byJameis Winston during the Cardinals' 40–7 victory over theTampa Bay Buccaneers. On October 6, 2016, he earned his first start of the season and collected seven combined tackles, deflected a pass, and sackedSan Francisco 49ers' quarterbackBlaine Gabbert in their 33–21 victory.[36] The following week, Swearinger recorded four solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass fromRyan Fitzpatrick during a 28–3 routing of theNew York Jets.[37] During a Week 12 matchup against theAtlanta Falcons, he earned a season-high seven combined tackles, defended two passes, and intercepted a pass attempt byMatt Ryan, as the Cardinals lost 19–38. On January 1, 2017, he recorded six solo tackles and sackedJared Goff during a 44–6 win against theLos Angeles Rams.[19] He had a resurgence during the2016 season and finished with 66 combined tackles (58 solo), a career-high eight combined tackles, a career-high three interceptions, and a career-high two sacks in 16 games and 12 starts.[19]
On March 9, 2017, theWashington Redskins signed Swearinger to a three–year, $13.5 million contract with $9 million guaranteed to a signing bonus of $4 million.[38][12]
He competed withSu'a Cravens,Will Blackmon,Earl Wolff, andMontae Nicholson for the starting free safety job. Head coachJay Gruden named Swearinger the starting free safety to begin the season.[39] His teammates voted him the Washington Redskins' defensive captain, although he was a free agent acquisition and was a new member of the team.[40]
Swearinger started theWashington Redskins' season-opener against thePhiladelphia Eagles and made five solo tackle and deflected a pass during their 17–30 loss.[19] He recorded two interceptions against quarterbackCase Keenum in the Week 10 game against theMinnesota Vikings.[41]
Swearinger had an impressive outing in a Week 2 loss against theIndianapolis Colts, intercepting quarterbackAndrew Luck twice to go along with 2 pass deflections.[42] Six weeks later, in a 20–13 win over theNew York Giants, Swearinger had another 2 interception performance, his second of the season.[43] Though Swearinger led the Redskins both in interceptions (four) and passes defended (10), on December 24 he was released from the team following critical comments he made publicly towards the team's defensive coordinatorGreg Manusky.[44]
On December 25, 2018, Swearinger was claimed off waivers by the Cardinals.[45]
On September 30, 2019, Swearinger was released by the Cardinals after playing every snap through four games.[46]
On November 9, 2019, Swearinger was signed by theOakland Raiders.[47] He was released on December 10, 2019.[48]
Swearinger signed with theNew Orleans Saints on December 19, 2019.[49]
On April 6, 2020, Swearinger was re-signed to a one–year, $1.1 million contract.[50] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on January 2, 2021,[51] and activated on January 11.[52]
On December 28, 2021, Swearinger was signed to theIndianapolis Colts' practice squad.[53]
Swearinger signed with theDC Defenders of theXFL on April 5, 2023.[54] He was released on April 30, 2024.[55]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2013 | HOU | 16 | 10 | 71 | 54 | 17 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | HOU | 16 | 12 | 73 | 51 | 22 | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | TAM | 7 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 |
| ARI | 4 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | ARI | 16 | 12 | 66 | 58 | 8 | 2.0 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 79 | 61 | 18 | 0.5 | 2 | 4 | 32 | 0 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | WAS | 15 | 15 | 53 | 42 | 11 | 1.0 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 0 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | ARI | 4 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 11 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OAK | 4 | 3 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| NOR | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | NOR | 11 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 110 | 73 | 425 | 327 | 98 | 4.5 | 13 | 14 | 109 | 0 | 31 | 43 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 0 | ||
Media related toD. J. Swearinger at Wikimedia Commons