After rollercoaster of emotions, Swift happy to be an Eagle

A few days after the Eagles traded away a future pick to acquire him, running back D’Andre Swift was back home in Philly.

And trying to make sense of all that just happened to him.

“Lot of emotions. Lot of emotions all at once,” Swift said on a videoconference with Eagles reporters on Wednesday. “Now that it’s settled down a couple days into it, excited, happy. Happy for a new opportunity, new chapter in my life, my career. I’m excited to be back home.”

The Lions drafted Swift early in the second round back in 2020 and he spent three seasons in Detroit. It became his home. And he admitted that the trade to ship him out of town did surprise him.

Well, what really seemed to surprise him was the moment when the Lions used the 12th overall pick on Thursday to select his replacement, Jahmyr Gibbs, from Alabama. That was the moment that signaled to the rest of the NFL that Swift was available. Eagles GM Howie Roseman pounced and just had to give up a future Day 3 pick to land Swift.

Swift made sure to thank the Lions organization and the City of Detroit for his three years spent there. But getting traded introduced him to the other side of life in the NFL.

“It was a lot,” he said. “It’s a business at the end of the day so, like, I understand it. But this is my first time dealing with it. So it was a lot of emotions all at one time. It still is right now.”

But if Swift had to be traded, Philly is a great landing spot. Not only is he returning to his hometown but he’s going to play for a team that is coming off a Super Bowl appearance. He’s going to be playing with an MVP candidate. And he’s going to be running behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.

The Eagles consistently build through the trenches and under Jeff Stoutland the offensive line has consistently been one of the best — if not the best — in the NFL.

That’s pretty exciting for Swift.

“Most definitely,” he said. “Kind of stayed up the last couple of nights just thinking about it. Great opportunity with this offensive line, with this coaching staff. I’m in a great running back room, first and foremost, with the guys that have been here. I’m just excited to get to work each day and be a piece to the puzzle that’s it.”

Swift, 24, was the No. 35 overall pick in the 2020 draft. He hasn’t quite lived up to his draft position but he has been productive. He’s averaged just over 13 games per season and has never gone over 617 rushing yards but Swift has been a dynamic pass-catcher with 156 career catches.

And he’s a home run threat too with four runs of 50+ yards in his career. Just two players — Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor — have more in the same stretch.

With the Eagles, Swift isn’t the only running back. He joins a room that includes Rashaad Penny, Kenny Gainwell, Boston Scott and Trey Sermon. And it’s still unclear how the workload will be distributed among them.

That part isn’t what Swift it thinking about just yet.

“Taking it day-by-day,” he said. “I’m so focused on just coming in here and working every single day. Just earning my keep. Whatever role they see fit for me all for the way I come in and work every day will be something that I earn.”

That rotation will be for head coach Nick Sirianni, offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and running backs coach Jemal Singleton to figure out. But there’s no doubt Swift will be in the mix.

If the trade to Philly was his first taste of the business side of football, his next could come after the completion of this season. Swift is in a contract year and will become a free agent next March.

Of course, free agency is pretty far in the future. And that trade from Detroit is in the past.

Swift is worried about the present.

“I’m here, I’m in Philadelphia, I play for the Eagles,” he said. “So I’m ready to take on this journey each and every day and just go to work every single day and earn my keep.”

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