By now, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the NFL world has been divided ever since the Cleveland Browns named Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback over Shedeur Sanders. Many around the league believed the decision had little to do with performance. Instead, some argued that the Browns named Watson their QB1 because of the five-year, $230 million contract he signed four years ago and failing to live up to the expectations surrounding the deal.

This week, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Reggie Swinton reflected on his own time in Dallas and pointed to a similar reality he experienced during his roughly three-year tenure with the Cowboys.

“When I told yall that (Deshaun) Deshaen Watson got the job over Sheduer because of money but yall didn’t believe me,” Swinton wrote on X. “Well Emmitt Smith told the same story about why I didn’t get a fair shot… it was because of money. The NFL is not about winning its about who they are paying big money to.”

Swinton’s comments came after the former Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith was asked about Swinton in a media appearance. In his conversation, Smith highlighted several factors that affected Swinton’s opportunities as a wide receiver in Dallas.

“I talked about a couple of things early on the radio show before I got here,” said Smith while talking about Swinton. “You got to have consistency. You got to have durability. And you got to be in the system that’s committed to you. At the time, I don’t know if our system was as complete as it needed to be to take advantage of a talent like Reggie Swinton. So, finding the balance was the key.

“He would have been one of the guys that I could count on to make a big play if they threw him in the game and made sure that he was given the opportunity to make plays for us. But in the football world, financial situation has a way of dictating who gets on the football field. And unfortunately for Reg, he had guys that the Cowboys brought in as free agents that they had to make sure that was on the football field.”

Smith’s comments about Swinton aren’t without historical context. Swinton was a journeyman wide receiver and return specialist and had played for seven franchises across multiple leagues before signing with the Cowboys in 2001. However, Swinton wasn’t just a return specialist. In fact, he was the leading receiver for the Arkansas Twisters of the af2 a year before joining the Cowboys.

He caught 85 receptions for 1,463 receiving yards and 33 touchdowns. At the same time, Dallas discovered Swinton after Jermaine Copeland suffered a serious collarbone injury during the 2001 training camp. Swinton, meanwhile, was playing for the Twisters at that time. After arriving in Dallas, he quickly impressed with a diving touchdown catch during a team drill.

However, he struggled for a starting opportunity as a wide receiver despite being productive whenever he received opportunities. In 2001, Swinton caught 7 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown on 16 targets. Then in 2002, his receiving workload remained extremely small. He caught 7 receptions on 10 targets for 63 yards.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, utilized Reggie Swinton more on special teams than at wide receiver. In his first season with Dallas, Swinton recorded 56 kickoff returns for 1,327 yards and 31 punt returns for 414 yards. Following his tenure with the Cowboys, Swinton went on to spend time with the Detroit Lions and the Arizona Cardinals before eventually transitioning into coaching.

The Browns, on the other hand, are all set to start with Watson during their preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.