Washington Redskins: Releasing D.J. Swearinger the right move

The Redskins released safety D.J. Swearinger on Monday just two days after his latest critical comments on defensive coordinator Greg Manusky.

The Washington Redskins released safety D.J. Swearinger on Christmas Eve after his latest round of critical comments aimed toward defensive coordinator Greg Manusky. Swearinger broke the story of his own release during a regularly scheduled radio appearance on Grant & Danny of 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C.

After Washington’s loss to Tennessee in Week 16, Swearinger spoke to the media and offered a scathing rebuke of Manusky’s playcalling on a critical third down in the fourth quarter.

Following the game, defensive lineman Jonathan Allen let it be known he did not agree with Swearinger and that perhaps his act had worn a bit thin with his teammates.

This was not an isolated incident for the sixth-year safety. He’s offered similar comments after losses in his two seasons with Washington, either criticizing the team’s practice habits or the defensive coaching staff. Apparently, head coach Jay Gruden had met with him on more than one occasion and told Swearinger to keep his comments in-house.

The Redskins had enough and were right to move on.

Swearinger is a good player who was playing on a modest three-year deal. He was arguably the team’s best safety since the late, great Sean Taylor as the position has been a black hole for a decade. An avid film-watcher, Swearinger also brought a physicality to the secondary. He was sometimes inconsistent with his tackling and missed a key tackle last week, but overall was one of Washington’s better defensive players.

Now, the safety position becomes one of the Redskins biggest needs heading into the offseason. With Montae Nicholson’s immediate future in limbo and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix a free agent at season’s end, Washington has some issues at safety. Clinton-Dix has struggled since coming over from Green Bay at the trade deadline.

If Swearinger had made these comments one time after a game he would not be in trouble. In fact, the Redskins had let it slide previously. However, after his latest round of comments Gruden and the front office had to act. Swearinger was a distraction and Washington could not continue to allow Swearinger to be insubordinate.

The Redskins often do not deserve to receive the benefit of the doubt. They are a horribly run organization, but in this instance, they got it right. In what world can you continue to criticize your employer publicly and get by with it?

Former Washington general manager Charley Casserly weighed in before Swearinger’s release and he was accurate in his assessment.

Swearinger is not good enough to keep around if he is going to be a locker-room disruption. He was claimed on waivers by his former team, the Cardinals.

In season full of distractions, the Redskins made one positive move by releasing a malcontent safety who considered himself a leader. Meanwhile, it was a second-year defensive lineman (Allen) who showed true leadership during a time of chaos and those are the players you build around.

Now if only the Redskins would get rid of their Bruce Allen problem.