D.J. Swearinger will play for veteran safety Danieal Manning, who went on season-ending IR this week. The second-round draft pick got the start for Sunday's game at Kansas City.
"D.J. is ready to play," defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. "I think D.J. is going to be a good player. We thought that all along but I think he has risen to another level as far as him being ready to play."
Swearinger has 18 tackles on defense and three on special teams this season. As a strong safety, his coverage skills were a lot closer to Manning's than Shiloh Keo, who started for Ed Reed earlier this season.
"Shiloh will play in our dime stuff if Shiloh needs to, but Shiloh's basically a free safety and D.J. is a strong safety," Phillips said.
Over six games this season, Phillips is pleased with the progress Swearinger has made.
"He plays fast," Phillips said. "He's a quick learner. He makes some mistakes but he corrects them when it's in the game or in practice or whatever. He's really gotten better and better as he's gone along. I think he's ready to play. That's a good thing for us." *Twitter.com/DeepSlant*
