Former Pittsburgh Steelers WR Eli Rogers took to Twitter yesterday to lament his exit from the team before the 2019 season, as the team chose to keep WR Ryan Switzer ahead of Rogers.
“They still haven’t told me why they kept him over me. I did everything better than him on the field. That was clear. And I love Ryan Switzer. He’s a good guy,” Rogers tweeted last night.
The Steelers traded for Switzer in August 2018, with Rogers recovering from a torn ACL. Rogers had 12 catches for 79 yards in three games in 2018, while Switzer pulled in 36 balls for 253 yards and served as a return man for the team. Presumably fully healthy, Rogers and Switzer were battling for one roster spot ahead of the 2019 season, and the team went with Switzer.
Obviously, that’s something that still bothers Rogers. In terms of overall production, Rogers had Switzer beat as a receiver. Switzer’s career receiving yard total of 321 yards pales in comparison to Rogers’ 2016 season alone, when he had 48 grabs for 594 yards. When looking at the overall body of work, Rogers was a better receiver while Switzer had a leg up on special teams.
Where Switzer also had a leg up was his relationship with QB Ben Roethlisberger. The two were very close, and with Roethlisberger nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career, he had some say over who his receivers would be. There could be something to Switzer’s relationship with Roethlisberger playing a role in him making the team over Rogers, but we obviously don’t know for sure what went down.
Either way, Rogers’ NFL career ended after his tenure in Pittsburgh. He’s played in both iterations of the XFL, the CFL and had a USFL roster spot before an injury ended his chances of playing. For someone who was moderately productive for Pittsburgh, it’s a little bit of a surprise that no other team would take a flier on him, but now that he’s 30 — and will be 31 in December — his NFL hopes are dwindling.
In the scheme of things, keeping Switzer over Rogers didn’t impact Pittsburgh positively or negatively all that much. But for Rogers, it’s a move that essentially ended his NFL career and something that still bothers him.
I’m sure all the buzz around training camp reignited some raw feelings, and he shared his frustration. It’s a tough situation all around, and one that we’ll probably never fully know the real story behind it.
