The Dallas Cowboys will be lining up against a familiar face in the 2023 season thanks to a former tight end signing with the Arizona Cardinals in free agency. The NFC West franchise is adding veteran TE Geoff Swaim to their lineup just before training camps begin.
Swaim has been in the league for nearly a decade, first entering the league as a seventh-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2015 NFL draft. ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler was the first to report Arizona’s signing on July 25.
“Veteran tight end Geoff Swaim plans to sign with the #Cardinals, per source. Eight-year vet was consistent starter for Tennessee the last few years,” Fowler wrote on Twitter.
Swaim has carved out a solid NFL career thanks to his versatility as a receiver and a blocker. The Cardinals will be Swaim’s fourth team since entering the league.
Interestingly enough, the Cowboys will get to see Swaim during the 2023 season. Dallas will take on Arizona early on in the fall, traveling to Phoenix to face the Cardinals during Week 3 for a 2:25 p.m. Central time kickoff.
Swaim Heads to Cardinals for Year 9
After a college career at Texas that saw Swaim primarily utilized as a blocker, the Cowboys drafted the California native in 2015. Similar to his time with the Longhorns, Swaim was used sparingly as a receiver when he first joined Dallas.
In fact, the 29-year-old only caught nine passes over his first three seasons. Pro Football Reference states that Swaim played in 28 games from 2015 through 2017 and made nine starts.
2018 was the year that Swaim showed the Cowboys more of his receiving ability, catching 26 passes on 32 targets for 242 receiving yards and a touchdown. It also marked his final season in Dallas before his one-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Ahead of the 2020 season, Swaim joined the Tennessee Titans and earned a more prominent role. Swaim started 37 games over three seasons with Tennessee, catching 52 passes for 351 receiving yards and scoring 5 touchdowns.
After four years in the AFC South, Swaim is headed back to the NFC. How the Cardinals will utilize the former Cowboys tight end remains to be seen.
Cowboys Also Making Moves Before Training Camp
While Swaim and the Cardinals link up, Dallas is also on the recruitment trail. This is most recently evidenced by the team working out former USFL cornerback Josh Butler the day before training camp is scheduled to start on July 26.
ESPN reporter Todd Archer was the first to report that Butler is working out for Dallas in Oxnard, California.
“The Cowboys are working out cornerback Josh Butler, who played for the Michigan Panthers in the USFL,” Archer wrote on Twitter on July 25. “The Cowboys have 89 players under contract as they head into the first practice of training camp on Wednesday.”
Butler is four years removed from his final college season at Michigan State and has never made an NFL roster. After impressing with the Michigan Panthers during the 2023 USFL season, the 27-year-old cornerback is getting a shot to make the Cowboys roster.
At the time of writing, Butler has not been signed to the official roster.
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Former Cowboys TE Signs With Cardinals in Free Agency: Report