Arizona Cardinals get familiar face back

LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 21: D.J. Swearinger #36 of the Washington Redskins celebrates with Montae Nicholson #35 after recovering a fumble in the first quarter of the game against the Dallas Cowboys at FedExField on October 21, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 21: D.J. Swearinger #36 of the Washington Redskins celebrates with Montae Nicholson #35 after recovering a fumble in the first quarter of the game against the Dallas Cowboys at FedExField on October 21, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Arizona Cardinals got a head start on 2019 with the addition of a popular defensive player

It was indeed a Merry Christmas for Arizona Cardinals fans on Tuesday when they learned they had successfully made a claim for safety D.J. Swearinger.  He had been cut by the Washington Redskins just two days earlier.

Swearinger left the Cardinals in free agency after 2016.  He wanted to come back but Washington offered more money.

He has had a pretty darn good season in 2018.  He has 42 tackles this season to go along his four interceptions and three forced fumbles and a sack.

Last week Swearinger was named as a Pro Bowl alternate.  So, why did Swearinger become available?  It might have everything to do with the way he criticized the defensive game plan this past Saturday against the Tennessee Titans.

While what he said probably should have been kept in-house, it wasn’t false.  Either way, the Redskins loss is the Cardinals gain.

Swearinger seemed happy to be coming back proclaiming per the New York Post “I am so excited to go back to the sunny desert Arizona like I never left.”  Since the Cardinals had the first waiver claim over anyone else thanks to their record, this was a no-brainer.

Obviously since there is just one week left in the season, this move was made more geared towards next season.  He is under contract until the end of next season.

Hopefully Swearinger doesn’t fall into the same trap of publicly criticizing anyone in Arizona but it is likely he learned his lesson, even if his words rang true.  Plus the Cardinals know what they are getting.

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Hopefully we will get a chance to see what he can do next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.  How much he actually plays remains to be seen since it is now a short week of preparation for him.