Arizona Cardinals release safety D.J. Swearinger following Week 4 loss

Safety D.J. Swearinger has had his second stint with the Arizona Cardinals come to an end as the team released the seven-year veteran on Monday.

“We’re going to make decisions in the best interest of this organization at this time, and I’ll just leave it at that,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury told the media Monday.

The team also re-signed wide receiver A.J. Richardson to the practice squad and placed wide receiver Johnnie Dixon on the practice squad IR.

The news of Swearinger’s release was first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Swearinger played just four games for Arizona this time around, all this season, after he came over off waivers from Washington in December. He also played for the Cardinals in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, totaling 20 games for them in that time frame.

This year, Swearinger started four times and had one pass defensed along with 28 combined tackles, none for loss, and one QB hit. He started alongside fellow safety Budda Baker, and the 0-3-1 Cardinals have struggled to cover tight ends as neither Swearinger nor Baker have forced a turnover this season.

As a team, the Cardinals have allowed 10 passing touchdowns this year, which is tied for the second-most in the NFL behind only the Miami Dolphins, who are 0-4. Arizona and Denver are the only two defenses in the league without an interception through four weeks.

To replace Swearinger, the Cardinals have a few options internally: Chris Banjo, whom the team signed last week, along with rookies Deionte Thompson and Jalen Thompson, and third-year pro Charles Washington. No one on the practice squad is listed on the team’s website as a safety. One safety, Josh Shaw, is on injured reserve.

The Cardinals’ next matchup is a Week 5 contest at the Cincinnati Bengals, who were 0-3 entering Monday’s game against the Steelers.

According to Spotrac, Swearinger had a $4.484 million. His dead cap figure is $4.425 million.

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