Watkins: The first step in Jason Witten’s return - Impressing his teammates again

Cotton

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By Calvin Watkins 2h ago

He was 21 when he started. Just a kid from Elizabethton, Tenn., trying to impress a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach who was eventually elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Now, at 37, Jason Witten is still trying to impress people. This time, it’s a different audience: Former teammates.

The Cowboys tight end retired a little more than a year ago to work at ESPN, only to return after a season away. It wasn’t a hard decision; Witten didn’t take to the television lifestyle. He’s still half-grunt, half-physical specimen, a combination that causes problems on Sundays in the fall and winter months. Football never left Witten’s soul and in reality, regardless of what you may think of why he’s here, it’s the reason he’s back. He loves football and doesn’t mind telling you he does. In the offseason, he joined the Cowboys’ captains and on-field leaders in unsupervised workouts to get back in shape. He knew Sean Lee, Tyrone Crawford, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and the rest of the crew. He’s not 21 anymore. Just 37, with a beard showing faint traces of grey.

Witten is here to show them he belongs again, even as those same players insist he has nothing to prove.

After all, Witten’s resume says plenty. He’s 21st all-time in receiving yards (12,448) and second among tight ends. Fourth all-time in catches (1,152). Inside the top 50 in touchdowns (68, which is tied for 47th all-time). His bust will end up in Canton, Ohio, same place as Bill Parcells, the old coach Witten was trying to impress.

Witten’s resume isn’t the issue. Neither is his toughness, having once played through a broken jaw and various other ailments throughout his career. The focus, then, is re-establishing himself as a complimentary piece, both on the field and in the locker room.

“It was important for me to reiterate to them early on, this is their team,” Witten said. “This is their time. It’s an opportunity to be a part of it. I’m still going to be myself. I think that’s what we all want for me to come back and approach it that way.”

Witten doesn’t want the perception of becoming a progress stopper to Blake Jarwin, Dalton Schulz and Rico Gathers. He doesn’t want a spot carved out for him; he wants to earn his place.

Yet there is every expectation that Witten will break camp alongside Jarwin and Schultz on the 53-man roster. And while the plan may be for Witten to get reduced snaps, no one expects that to actually happen. Witten is a proud man, one who took it personally every year the Cowboys drafted a tight end. A former Cowboys player laughs when he tells the story how Witten was steamed when the team drafted Gavin Escobar in 2013. Every catch Witten made in practice, he would howl about possibly getting replaced. He never was. Of the nine tight ends the Cowboys drafted since Witten’s selection in 2003, only four remain in the league. Witten has 2,725 more yards and 219 more catches than those nine players combined

He’s only ever known life as a focal point.

Perhaps that’s why it was so hard for him to stay retired. Last year, it seemed Witten’s impending return was slapping us in the face, and we chose to ignore it. Un-retirement rumors were rampant throughout the 2018 season. It only took a single phone call to Stephen Jones to get get the ball rolling before Witten finally made it official at the NFL Scouting Combine in late March.

“It was a long nine months away, and I think we all know how we go into making those decisions like that,” Witten said. “It’s great to get back in there. And having those captains’ workouts really allowed me to fit in. Within the first five minutes, it’s like ‘Okay, this is new for a second.’ But getting acclimated with those guys, [getting] back to work, [putting] your head down. That’s how I tried to approach it. So it’s been a good start. I know I have a lot of work still to do.”

There are more reasons to bet against a successful return than on it. Witten is 37 and missed all of last season. There are very few, if any, corollaries for what he’s trying to accomplish. But Witten is hungry for one last shot at a ring. This is his last song on stage, and he believes in this group he watched from afar.

“Yeah, I think it’s close,” he said of a championship team in 2019. “The most talent I’ve seen.”

Witten doesn’t see himself as any sort of missing piece, never mind how awful the Cowboys were in the red zone without him. He’s just focused on preparing for a final season. The first steps begin now, in those unseen offseason workouts.

“When I made that decision, I knew how important it was going to be to get back in shape,” he said. “I think that’s when you make that decision in February and March and not in July, August or November. That was important for me to get back in there. I knew I had a lot of work to do, and it’s been a good start for me.”
 

p1_

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[h=1]Jason Witten After One-Year Retirement: Empowering Teammates[/h]
He says its his teammates' team. Let's see...
 

Cowboysrock55

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I love how the assumption is that our redzone struggles were because of Witten. Witten was never that good near the goal line. Witten's biggest contribution this year though will be as a leader, teacher and I think he is still a better run blocker than the rest of the TE's on the roster. Mostly because he at least blocks the right guy instead of some of the boneheaded stuff we saw last year from guys like Schultz blocking no one.
 

deadrise

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Witten is back because he's one of Garrett's white-boy Eagle Scouts and one of Jerry's surrogate sons. I recall Garrett, Romo and Witten all with prime front-row seats in Jerry's box during the Final Four a few years ago.

He's been a progress stopper and he'll continue to be a progress stopper. But that's okay, because the Head Coach is a progress stopper in his own way, and the owner has been a progress stopper since the mid-90s.
 

p1_

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Witten is back because he's one of Garrett's white-boy Eagle Scouts and one of Jerry's surrogate sons. I recall Garrett, Romo and Witten all with prime front-row seats in Jerry's box during the Final Four a few years ago.

He's been a progress stopper and he'll continue to be a progress stopper. But that's okay, because the Head Coach is a progress stopper in his own way, and the owner has been a progress stopper since the mid-90s.
I think he just wants to go along for a playoff ride while this roster is capable of getting further than any of Witt's prior teams did. Cant blame him, until it becomes clear that hes no longer a solid blocking tight end and a viable receiving option.
 

deadrise

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I think he just wants to go along for a playoff ride while this roster is capable of getting further than any of Witt's prior teams did. Cant blame him, until it becomes clear that hes no longer a solid blocking tight end and a viable receiving option.
So you dedicate a roster spot to a 37-year-old has-been who hopes to hang on for a playoff ride? Is that a reason? And in Garrett's mind and Jerry's mind Witten will always be a solid blocking tight end and viable receiving option. Because that's what they want him to be.

Does anyone seriously believe that Witten would be among the final cuts on the last day? No matter what?
 

shoop

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So you dedicate a roster spot to a 37-year-old has-been who hopes to hang on for a playoff ride? Is that a reason? And in Garrett's mind and Jerry's mind Witten will always be a solid blocking tight end and viable receiving option. Because that's what they want him to be.

Does anyone seriously believe that Witten would be among the final cuts on the last day? No matter what?
No. Partially because even at 37 and "washed up" he is better than most of the turds we have been trying to shine into diamonds at TE. Maybe we will finally give up the Rico Gathers nonsense.

Jason Witten in 2017 had better production than all of them combined in 2018. Sad state of affairs.
 
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deadrise

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"Jason Witten in 2017 had better production than all of them combined in 2018. Sad state of affairs."

Whose fault is that? Is that a justification for dumpster-diving with Witten? We don't have anybody better?
 

shoop

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"Jason Witten in 2017 had better production than all of them combined in 2018. Sad state of affairs."

Whose fault is that? Is that a justification for dumpster-diving with Witten? We don't have anybody better?
You can place the blame wherever you like. Coaching, playcalling, scouting... Schultz looked at least a decent pick when we drafted him. Is he really bad or has the coaching not used him correctly? But I would say, yes, at this point we don't have anybody better on the roster than Witten unless one of the young guys steps up.
 

boozeman

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Witten was never that good near the goal line.
This is one trope that I have never quite understood where the hell it came from.

If anything, guys like Bryant are what some are pretending what Witten was.
 

Cowboysrock55

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You can place the blame wherever you like. Coaching, playcalling, scouting... Schultz looked at least a decent pick when we drafted him. Is he really bad or has the coaching not used him correctly? But I would say, yes, at this point we don't have anybody better on the roster than Witten unless one of the young guys steps up.
He was a rookie and rookie TEs tend to struggle in the NFL. I never loved him but it's way to early to make a judgment on him.
 
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