Last week, Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett made headlines with some quotes about the return of Jason Witten. Neither Garrett nor Witten tend to make headlines with their words often, but the two combined to do so with a quote this week.
“Yeah, absolutely. He’s been excited about every part of it ever since I met him and that hasn’t changed,” coach Jason Garrett said. “The work that he’s done in the weight room in the off-season program has been outstanding. His testing numbers and all of that are what they’ve been or even better. And he just has an unbelievable way about him. Tremendous passion for the game. And he demonstrates that every day. Witt looks good. He’s excited to be back and we’re certainly fortunate to have him back.” – Jason Garrett on Witten.
Multiple Cowboys’ media outlets ran with these quotes, looking to show that the Cowboys have found a version of Jason Witten that they have not seen in quite some time. They are, publicly, stating that they believe a year away from the game did Witten some good, and that he will be a much healthier and fresher player in 2019 than he was back when he last played in 2017.
As a fan of the team, I sure hope this is the case. But as a realistic human being, I can’t get behind this at all.
Jason Witten hasn’t been very good for quite some time now. I know he’s a Cowboy legend, and will forever be a fan favorite, but the facts are the facts. As a run blocker Witten has regressed greatly in his later years. More often it seemed he was re-adjusting his jersey after a missed block than he was making blocks to spring Ezekiel Elliott on the edge.
As a receiver, Witten’s much slower than he used to be. And while he was never a blazer who relied on his speed to win, his lack of speed certainly holds him back in today’s game. And if the Cowboys want to be multiple and versatile on offense, I’m not sure how a greatly-aged tight end helps them to do so.
He’s still the smart, instinctive route runner he’s always been, but at 37 years old what can we realistically expect from him?
I’ll be honest, I’m very skeptical that Jason Witten is going to give the Cowboys anything in 2019. Maybe earlier in the season he will look better than expected, but can he withstand a full NFL season? It’s impossible to say for sure now, but I’m absolutely not buying that he’s rejuvenated or extra-fresh after a year off from football.
