As you may already know, the Jets will not be using any starters in their preseason opener against the Commanders on Saturday night at MetLife Stadium.
This isn’t appealing to Jets fans who want to see guys like Aaron Rodgers, Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, but it’s a lifeline for guys like Tre Swilling and a host of other unheralded reserves who are fighting for their professional lives to get a job.
The 25-year-old Swilling, the son of former NFL star linebacker Pat Swilling, who recorded 107.5 sacks in his pro career, is representative of the group of players who view Saturday night’s preseason opener as a kind of Super Bowl.
Swilling, who is fourth on the cornerback depth chart, has had a different NFL path than his father, who was a third-round draft pick by the Saints in 1986. Pat Swilling played all 16 games as a rookie, became a starter his second year and played seven seasons with New Orleans before spending two years with Detroit and three with Oakland.
Tre Swilling signed with the Jets on Aug. 2 after stints with the Titans, Saints, 49ers and Ravens before heading to Florham Park, New Jersey.
“It’s tough, especially as an undrafted rookie player, to look at what’s going on outside and then be cut by the team that signed you,” Swilling told The Post after Thursday’s joint practice with the Commanders. “I feel like my journey in particular has been a hula hoop or a mountain of hurdles to swim through.”
Swilling was a smart (he graduated from Georgia Tech in three years), eloquent and bright young man who never complained about his predicament.
When you talk to Swilling, you get the sense he’s a guy who believes in the path he’s on and isn’t going to give up. He’s a guy you can root for, not the son of a former star player who believes he’s entitled to preferential treatment.
“My dad and I talk every day, whether it’s about football or not,” Swilling said. “My dad is so proud of me because it’s so hard to have a father and son both make it in the NFL twice. He did it and I hope to do the same.”
Listening to Pat Swilling talk about his youngest son, Tre doesn’t seem to need much pushing.
“Tre’s the type of kid that once he sets his sights on something, he goes after it,” Pat Swilling told The Post on Friday. “He’s competed hard, he’s played for the two best teams in the NFL, the 49ers and the Ravens, and he was with the Ravens all year. [in 2023]So those teams saw something in him.
“We hope and pray that the Jets take a look at him and give him an opportunity to get on the field and play. He’s a hard-working, consummate professional. We hope the Jets understand that. All we need is someone to pull the trigger and let him play. We hope and pray that this is our opportunity.”
Tre Swilling was born in 1999, a year after Pat retired from the NFL, so the only time he was able to watch his father play was through old highlights or YouTube.
“Every time a coach or somebody remembers my last name and talks to me about my dad, they tell me what a legend he was,” he said. “He made his mark and he made his mark and I’m trying to do the same.”
Swilling’s journey is similar to that of many of his fellow undrafted free agents who fill the bottom 10 of NFL rosters, a fleeting existence like tourists cruising through Disney World.
He signed with the Titans after the 2022 draft, then was waived at the end of training camp. He was signed by the Saints’ practice squad a few weeks later, which he called “an amazing experience, walking through the same building my dad played in.”
That “great experience” lasted just three weeks before he was released. After nearly three months without a job, he was signed to the 49ers’ practice squad in December 2022. That lasted a week before he was released. San Francisco signed him again to a reserve/future contract in February 2023.
Swilling finally got a chance to put on a uniform and play in an NFL game in 2023, playing two games on special teams for the 49ers before being waived in October and signed by the Ravens to their practice squad.
He’s currently with the Jets, which will put him on his fifth NFL team in less than three years.
“I’m grateful the Jets gave me the opportunity to prove my worth in the preseason,” he said.
His first chance to do so will come Saturday night at MetLife.
