Ex-Cowboys WR Ryan Switzer, Dez Bryant hint at controversial ending in Dallas
By Adam Weinrib
All former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and kick returner Ryan Switzer wants is answers. That’s it. And, according to Dez Bryant, the questions he wants settled are valid ones worth asking.
A blast from the recent past, Switzer took to Twitter on Wednesday night to wonder out loud about the circumstances of his departure from Dallas, which came mere days after the Cowboys acquired Tavon Austin (a move Switzer applauded).
Switzer, a fourth-round pick of the Cowboys out of the University of North Carolina back in 2017, only made it a full year in the organization before they sent him to the Raiders in exchange for current New York Giant Jihad Ward.
At the time, Switzer was just one season into his NFL career coming off a promising four seasons in Chapel Hill. His senior year was eye-catching; he nearly doubled his previous career-high in receiving yards, sprinting for 1,112 and six touchdowns. Switzer was also a part-time punt returner, but when he landed in Dallas, he was converted to what amounted to a full-time return guy on both punts and kicks.
He equated himself admirably (29 punt returns for 256 yards and a touchdown, 24 kick returns for 600 yards), but received just seven targets in the receiving game. And, at the end of the year, he was a Raider, a move he still finds mystifying.
Still confuses me why I was traded. I think I was top 5 in both PR & KR. Never did KR in college, didn’t have any pre season that year so I had to learn on the fly. Finished top 3. I asked all season why I wasn’t getting any offensive snaps. Never got any answers. https://t.co/1TcQH65DMs
— Ryan Switzer (@Switz) December 14, 2022
Former Dallas Cowboys WR Ryan Switzer still doesn’t know why he was traded. Dez Bryan agrees.
Jason Garrett on Line One! Where were the offensive snaps for Switzer? Offensive snaps were kind of, like, his whole thing.
Luckily for Switzer, his former teammate Dez Bryant was aligned with his confusion.
In fact, he told the former Heel that he had recently spent time watching his college tape (!), which only made his one-year stint in Dallas more confusing.
Switz it’s funny you posted this.. I was looking at your joint college highlight with Christian mccaffrey 1:30am in the morning thinking Switz was really like that… this is a crazy coincidence because I really was up watching your highlights.. but you know what the issues was https://t.co/99PaF5CU6V
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) December 15, 2022
According to Switzer, he believed that he’d been given some excellent offensive advice between Year 1 and 2, as well as an assurance that the landscape of the team would be changing significantly for the 2018 season.
Apparently, those changes had nothing to do with him, and were mainly Tavon Austin-based.
Man DB… indeed I do! It’s crazy because that summer & all fall camp we were led to believe it would be different.
— Ryan Switzer (@Switz) December 15, 2022
Switzer officially retired from the NFL prior to the 2022 season, posting a solid sophomore season in Pittsburgh (with a receiving touchdown) before falling out of the game plan in 2019 and floating around thereafter.
While not often considered one of the great “What Could’ve Been” stories in the league, it’s clear Switzer and his Cowboys teammates believe his rookie year earned him a stronger explanation for his eventual demotion.
