Dallas Cowboys: 3 Safety options after Jamal Adams trade falls through

2. D.J. Swearinger

For whatever reason, this guy can’t seem to find a long-term home. Former second-round pick D.J. Swearinger has played for four NFL teams and just finished his second stint with one of those teams as he was released by the Arizona Cardinals following four starts this season.

Originally drafted by the Houston Texans out of South Carolina in 2013, Swearinger hasn’t stuck around — and a lot of that allegedly has to do with his attitude more than his play on the field. Another hard-hitter, Swearinger is capable of playing both free safety and strong safety, which is exactly the type of defensive backs Dallas looks for.

With Houston, he was always around the ball and recorded 144 tackles, three picks, 10 pass defenses, and forced four fumbles during his first two seasons. He was then released ahead of the 2015 campaign and split time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cardinals.

He didn’t accomplish much that year but was a starter again in 2016 with the Cardinals before spending two seasons as a starter with the Washington Redskins. Released late in 2018 after ripping his defensive coordinator, Swearinger was brought back to Arizona where he played in every defensive snap this season through four games before being released.

Should the Cowboys be interested, they would have to understand that there could be some extracurricular activity to worry about with Swearinger but for the most part, that seems to be more of an issue with things he says than any huge red flags. Again, he wouldn’t be a long-term solution but adding a guy with 14-career picks (and eight in the past two seasons with the Redskins) seems like it would be worth the risk.