A report surfaced that the Dallas Cowboys wanted Jason Witten to leave the Monday Night Football booth and rejoin the team, but that’s unnecessary.
There’s suddenly been talk about the Dallas Cowboys reaching out to a familiar face in hopes of a reunion. According to an ESPN report from Adam Schefter, head coach Jason Garrett reached out to Monday Night Football broadcaster Jason Witten and asked him to consider rejoining the team.
Witten reportedly declined the request, despite it being tempting according to Schefter. Witten seems content in his new role calling games, even if he hasn’t had the best first season on the job judging by fan reaction to his work.
Even so, it likely got some fans excited at the prospect — even if it shouldn’t have. The main reason not to get too excited is that it can’t happen.
According to Troy Hughes of 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, there was a report from one of his colleagues that even if Witten unretired, he would have to go through waivers thanks to the timing.
You wanna see Jason Witten back with the Cowboys?!?! Well ... that ain’t happening
— 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗬 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦 (@TommySledge) December 9, 2018
Per @KristiScales ... After Week 13, that’s this week, if a retired player decides to return to the league ... the player has to go through waivers #DallasCowboys (@1053TheFan) pic.twitter.com/N8PH0aPeq1
Looking beyond this technicality, there really isn’t a need for such discussions. The Cowboys have been on fire with a five-game winning streak and on Sunday, they saw a couple of their young tight ends start to come through for them.
Second-year player Blake Jarwin had seven receptions on seven targets for 56 yards in the Cowboys big win over the Eagles. Rookie Dalton Schultz also played well with three receptions for 37 yards, including big 16-yard and five-yard gains in their winning overtime drive.
While neither player is set for the kind of career Witten had, it’s likely he would be a progress stopper at this point. Witten was great in his day, but had lost a step and has now spent months in the booth and away from the game.
The time it would take to get him up to speed would be too great, and it would also take some players off the field who are finally looking like they’ve turned a corner.
Witten will go down as the best tight end to ever play the game and will forever be missed by the fans. That doesn’t mean bringing him back now would be the right move — that is, even if it could be done.