UNC Football Alumni: Ryan Switzer almost decided to quit

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Ryan Switzer tells a story of how he came close to quitting the game of football last season

Former University of North Carolina standout Ryan Switzer has had a wild ride in his brief NFL career thus far. After being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2017, Switzer played just one season with the franchise before being traded to Oakland during the 2018 NFL Draft.

He was on the move again just a few months later when the Raiders shipped him off to Pittsburgh just weeks before the start of the 2019 season.

Being dealt three times and having to find three new homes isn’t easy on a young player trying to find his way in the NFL. For Switzer, he almost hit his breaking point and retired from the game.

Mark Kaboly of The Athletic wrote a fantastic piece on Switzer last week, detailing his first season with the Steelers as he preps for year three in the NFL. One of the big takeaways from the artcile was how close Switzer came from walking away from the game.

With less than two weeks before the Week 1 opener vs. Cleveland, it was Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin who gave the receiver the motivation to keep going:

"“We are playing Cleveland in three days, and he says to me, ‘Make sure you get your shit together because you are going to be in there a lot,’” Switzer recalled on Wednesday mere feet away from where that career-saving conversation took place.“Now, I am thinking I am just going to come here and catch some punts and some kicks and be kind of an afterthought. It was like ‘Wow!’ He didn’t care where I came from and what they thought of me, and he puts me out there Week 1 against Cleveland (for seven offensive snaps) because he has trust in me.”"

Switzer went on to say that the conversation with Tomlin stuck with him and gave him the motivation to keep going. For a coach to believe in a player like that, it means a lot and it showed for the wide receiver.

The former fourth-round pick caught 36 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown in his first year with the Steelers, working out of the slot. With Antonio Brown gone, there should be some more targets to go around in Pittsburgh’s offense.

Switzer also plays a big role in the return game for the Steelers. In 2018, Switzer returned 30 punts for 252 yards and 30 kick returns for 604 yards.  If Switzer can find a way to have a big year in Pittsburgh this season, he could find himself in the Steel City for years to come.

For more on former UNC Football players in the NFL, please check back with Keeping It Heel.