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Former Gamecock D.J. Swearinger has been putting up a career year this season for the NFL’s Washington Redskins. He’s tied for second in the league in interceptions, he’s defended nine passes and recorded 33 tackles, and he’s been named a midseason All-Pro by Pro Football Focus.
But as hyped up as the South Carolina alum has been through the first portion of the season, he’ll be even more amped up this week’s matchup with the Houston Texans.
That’s because Swearinger, who played for the Texans in his first two pro seasons, says that Houston bad-mouthed him after he left the franchise, according to ESPN.
When Swearinger left Texas to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he told ESPN that coach Lovie Smith said he had heard bad things about the safety from his former team.
“I never got a fair chance from Tampa,” Swearinger told ESPN. “I remember my first interview with [coach] Lovie [Smith], he asked me about all the things Houston bashed me on. I was sitting there shocked, like, ‘They really said that about me? This is horrible.’ I took that and put that chip on my shoulder, like I never got that fair opportunity.”
Most of Swearinger’s ill will was directed towards coach Bill O’Brien, who took over the Texans in Swearinger’s second year. In an Instagram post this week, Swearinger made his feelings towards O’Brien clear, though O’Brien has deflected questions about any bad blood this week.
Now, Swearinger is thriving with his new team, having already defeated the two clubs that picked him up in between his stints in Houston and Washington — the Buccaneers and the Arizona Cardinals.
On Sunday, he’ll be going up against his former teammate, Gamecock Jadeveon Clowney. When the two were teammates at Houston, Swearinger’s pit bull bit Clowney on the arm, but there doesn’t seem to be any lingering animosity there — Clowney has appeared at Swearinger’s charity basketball game in the Midlands since.
Still, there’s no question Swearinger will be playing with a little extra fire this Sunday.
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