Boxing, an ego in check and his son’s request: D.J. Swearinger’s winding path to the XFL

To understand D.J. Swearinger’s improbable path to the XFL, consider this: Before the former Washington Redskins safety signed with the D.C. Defenders earlier this month, the 31-year-old was in the midst of a career change. 

More than two years removed from playing in his last NFL game, Swearinger decided to trade his cleats for boxing gloves. Yes, boxing. Since January, the nine-year NFL veteran had been in training camp to make his professional debut for a fight scheduled for May 19 in Richmond. He set out to do so after boxing recreationally for years when he says he consistently heard from his trainer that he “needed to do it for real.”

Swearinger wouldn’t be the first former NFL player to try his hand at the sport — Frank Gore, Adrian Peterson and Le’Veon Bell are among them — but the defensive back maintained he was serious about the fight game. 

“They not doing it for real!” Swearinger says. “They doing it for exhibition. I’m doing it for real. Like seriously. For real, for real. I’ve got videos — I haven’t posted nothing yet — but it’s not no joke. I’m not doing it just to be he-he’in and for the views.

“I’m doing it for real.” 

And yet, as Swearinger detailed his plans to compete at 175 pounds, he did so outside a locker room at Audi Field — the football stadium where he had just put on a show for the Defenders. On Sunday afternoon, Swearinger recorded eight tackles and a pick-six in D.C.’s 28-26 win over the Arlington Renegades. He did so in front of fans who had become accustomed to cheering for him years earlier when he was a member of the Redskins.

Swearinger’s boxing career will have to wait. Last month, the safety decided to attempt a return shortly after his 5-year-old son, Dayarlo Jr., told his father he wanted to see him play football again. Coincidentally, the request came the same day as the Defenders attempted again to see if Swearinger would be interested in playing in the XFL. 

Until that point, Swearinger viewed the upstart league as beneath him and resisted multiple overtures from the Defenders.  “That’s hustling backwards and a step down on my legacy,” he tweeted on March 18. He was fine on money, so why would he need to play? But in that same post, he wondered if that was his ego talking. His son, he realized, was too young to really have any memories of Swearinger’s NFL days. 

On April 6, he swallowed his pride and signed a contract with the Defenders. 

“I definitely wanted one or two more years (in the NFL),” Swearinger said. “That’s where I was kind of at. … I definitely wanted to do 10 or 11 (years), those were always my goals. I think this is just an opportunity to showcase I’m still an elite safety and that I can still do it. 

“So I gave it a shot.”

There’s a level of surrealness, too, over Swearinger being back in the District. After all, as well as Swearinger played for the Redskins over his two seasons with Washington, this is the place where his career practically ended. 

For those who don’t remember, Swearinger was released on Christmas Eve in 2018 after he had torched defensive coordinator Greg Manusky’s play-calling in an interview a day earlier.  Swearinger has said he does not regret how his time with the team — now known as the Commanders — ended. But at each of his next few stops, Swearinger wasn’t able to recreate the highs of his days in Washington — where he was regarded as one of the league’s best safeties.

After he was cut by Washington, Swearinger bounced around. He spent 2019 with the Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints, played 11 games with the Saints in 2020 and was a member of the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad in 2021. He went unsigned all of last year.

His path has now brought him to the Defenders — a team with a habit of signing former Commanders.  The Defenders have seven players on defense who have spent at least some time with the Burgundy and Gold, including Montae Nicholson — the safety who started alongside Swearinger in 2017 and 2018. 

“When I got here, I had the biggest grin — it was like a kid getting a new toy,” Nicholson said. “I’ve learned so much from D.J. when I was playing with him. He’s brought his knowledge here to the other guys, too. … The communication, it’s like we never left to be honest.” 

Defenders coach Reggie Barlow praised Swearinger’s impact on teammates and said the safety is still capable of playing at a high level. As for whether that translates to another NFL opportunity? Swearinger is hopeful. 

The 31-year-old said his goal is to play at least 10 years in the NFL — a number that became his goal because he looked up to guys like Ed Reed, who served as a mentor for Swearinger when he first got in the league. Reed’s advice: When a player gets to eight or nine years, go for “double digits.” 

But if it doesn’t work out — and he retires from football — Swearinger won’t be done delivering hard hits. There’s always boxing. 

“After I finish playing ball, after I hang it up, I’m going to fight,” Swearinger said, “for sure.”