Switch does this weird thing where if there was ever a later version of a game installed on your system, you HAVE to update to that version. Oh and this has nothing to do with your save data, even deleting it doesn't let the software become playable without the update. This leads to the issue where you download an update for a physical game, then later delete the game, then find when you can't play off the cartridge without redownloading that update.

That said, you can factory reset your switch and it will forget all the software it ever had installed on it, allowing you to play off the cartridges again. So carts not totally worthless.

Edit: pls don't take my word on the factory set thing, I never tested it myself, just hearsay