Grant Halverson/Getty Images Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to a game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on December 18, 2022.
Just prior to the Steelers’ 24-16 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 18, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin had a chance to catch up with one his former players: recently-retired wide receiver Ryan Switzer.
Steelers beat reporter Brooke Pryor (ESPN) tweeted out a short video showing Tomlin and Switzer getting reacquainted on the field at Bank of America Stadium. The six-second video clip is especially notable because it shows Tomlin telling Switzer: “I spent a lot of time praying for this one,” as he pats Switzer’s son on the back and proceeds to ask how the family is doing.
Former Steelers receiver Ryan Switzer is in Charlotte for today’s game. Mike T came over to say hi to the Switzer fam pregame
Switzer indicates that he and his family are doing fine, but things were touch-and-go in March 2021, when his infant son Christian was battling a mysterious bleeding condition, not to mention COVID-19. In fact, Christian’s condition proved so difficult to diagnose that the Switzer family traveled from Cleveland to Boston, where rare disease specialists at Boston Children’s Hospital found what was described as a “vascular anomaly” and performed successful surgery on March 29, 2021. Later that same day Switzer tweeted a message indicating that his son was expected to “make a full recovery.”
Switzer Reunites With Mitch Trubisky, Too
On Sunday Ryan Switzer also had the chance to get reacquainted with Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky, as well as a few of his former Steelers teammates.
As evinced by sports reporter/anchor Emily Giangreco of WTAE (Pittsburgh), the Switzer family touched base with Trubisky, as well as kicker Chris Boswell and tight end Zach Gentry.
Trubisky is the Godfather of Switzer’s son, with the pair having played together in college at North Carolina. Both were selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, with Trubisky drafted No. 2 overall by the Chicago Bears and Switzer selected No. 133 overall by the Cowboys.
What a reunion!
Mitch Trubisky, Chris Boswell and Zach Gentry all coming to say hi to Ryan Switzer.
Trubisky is the Godfather for Switzer’s son Christian.
For a quick trip down memory lane, here’s Trubisky connecting with Switzer on a 75-yard touchdown pass during a Tar Heels home game against James Madison in Sept. 2016.
Ryan Switzer’s NFL Journey
As noted above, Switzer entered the NFL in 2017 with the Cowboys. After one season in Dallas, he was traded to the Raiders — and then traded to Pittsburgh, where he caught 44 passes for 280 yards and one touchdown over the course of two seasons. He also returned 39 kickoffs for 773 yards (19.8-yard average) and 38 punts for 281 yards (7.4-yard average), as per Pro Football Reference.
Then in July 2020 he predicted that he would soon be “one of the best slot receivers in the NFL,” with a career akin to Julian Edelman, Wes Welker or Cole Beasley. But despite earning rave reviews in training camp in the summer of 2020, he was released in favor of wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, who demonstrated superior kick return ability.
Switzer went on to spend a portion of the 2020 season on Cleveland’s practice squad before re-upping with the Browns in January 2021. But the Browns placed him on injured reserve in August 2021, ostensibly having suffered a foot injury during the preseason.
Switzer did get a tryout with the Carolina Panthers on April 19, 2022, but he went unsigned and elected to retire from the NFL three months later.