Arizona Cardinals: Ryan Swope placed on reserve/retired list

May 10, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Ryan Swope (19) looks on during Rookie Minicamp at the Cardinals Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

In some sad news to report, the Arizona Cardinals have placed rookie wide receiver Ryan Swope out of Texas A&M on the reserved/retired list. Everybody is sad to hear about this news because Swope has had ongoing concussion issues since his days at Texas A&M.

According to AZCardinals.com, Cardinals GM Steve Keim said that he knew Swope had concussion issues but was willing to take a chance on him. More in depth, he said “But weighing all the elements — the medical information available, the particular position in the draft — it was a decision we were comfortable making. As it turned out, he had a setback after he got here. Over the course of the subsequent evaluations, we all decided that Ryan’s long-term well-being was the number-one priority and this was the best course to take.”

If Swope had gotten the chance to play, he could have been the ultimate playmaker for the Cardinals offense with a stable quarterback in Carson Palmer. But that’s what could have been, but more importantly the health of Ryan Swope is more important now since his career is over. This is something that we have to monitor over time because we have seen concussions take a toll on NFL players after their careers are over.

This past April, Swope was drafted in the 6th round of the NFL Draft with the 174th overall pick.