D.J. Swearinger Calls out Ex-Washington NFL Coach Jay Gruden with IG Text Image

Safety D.J. Swearinger, who played for Washington's NFL team in 2017 and 2018, shared a tense text conversation Friday that he had with former head coach Jay Gruden in 2018.

Swearinger wrote on Instagram that "things went south" for him in Washington when Gruden sent him a series of texts stemming from an interview the veteran safety gave after the team's 40-16 loss to the New York Giants late in the 2018 season.

In the text messages Swearinger shared, Gruden wrote, "Wanna play? Let's f--king play." He also appeared to challenge Swearinger to a fight: "Where u wanna meet? We can meet tonight or tomorrow."

Swearinger wrote in his Instagram caption:

"He Wanted Me To Act Out But I Handled It Professionally & The Next Day He Told Me That Somebody Told Him That I Said Something About him in the interview but when he watched the interview he realized that person was lying & he actually agreed with everything I said. Soooo as a player how would you look [at] your coach for the rest of the season?! How can you motivate yourself to play for a guy who talks to you less than a man?!"

Following the loss to the Giants on Dec. 9, 2018, Swearinger gave a unique response to reporters when asked what was wrong with the defense.

"We just didn't execute, we just didn't get the job done," he said. "That's the answer they want me to give."

Swearinger was released by Washington on Dec. 24, 2018, two days after being critical of defensive coordinator Greg Manusky's play-calling in a Week 16 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

In a radio interview the day after his release (h/t Les Carpenter and Tramel Raggs of the Washington Post), Swearinger said Gruden never offered an explanation for why the team cut him:

"I asked him why; he didn't give me an explanation. So I guess it was just because of the media . . . The last conversation we had, never in a million years would I have thought I'd be released . . . I was just like, ‘Oh wow, why?' And he didn't say anything. I guess he didn't have an answer or respond; he just wanted to release me and that was that. There wasn't no explanation on why. He just said this is the third time I've been in his office and we're going to release you and that was that."

One month after his release, Swearinger wrote a message on Instagram about Gruden: "That coach y'all have will never win big cause it ain it him to coach discipline."

The Arizona Cardinals claimed Swearinger off waivers following his Washington release, and he played the first four games last season with the team before being cut. He also spent time with the Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints during the 2019 campaign.

Washington fired Gruden after an 0-5 start last season. The 53-year-old went 35-49-1 with one playoff appearance in five-plus seasons as the team's head coach.