A Christmas gift, two months late. That’s the only way to describe this.
Jason Witten came down the Cowboys’ chimney Thursday, ready to get back to work.
Michael Jordan once went off to play minor league baseball. Brett Favre returned and became a Viking. George Foreman stopped grilling burgers long enough to regain a heavyweight title at age 45.
And the greatest tight end in Cowboys history, as it turns out, went off to join the ESPN circus for nine months.
Retirements aren’t always written in ink. I’ll bet Witten’s name is still etched on his parking space at the Ford Center.
What a godsend this is for a team that seems to be only a few steps away from a Super Bowl. What an elixir this could be for a head coach that needs to advance in the playoffs to keep his job.
And what a timely jolt of rejuvenation this should be for an owner whose last birthday was his 76th.
Jerry Jones was 53 when the Cowboys last went to the Super Bowl. Witten will turn 37 in a few months.
Do the math. There’s more than a smidgen of desperation in all of them. The arm-twisting by Jones and Jason Garrett was real.
“The fire inside of me to compete and play this game is just burning too strong,” Witten said in a statement released by the Cowboys. “This team has a great group of rising young stars, and I want to help them make a run at a championship. This was completely my decision, and I am very comfortable with it. I’m looking forward to getting back in the dirt.”
Witten’s return checks off numerous blocks on the team’s off-season want list. Veteran leadership. Stability at tight end. A dependable pass target on third downs and in the red zone.
Witten’s ghost was seen often last season as Cowboys drives repeatedly stalled in the shadow of opposing end zones.
He didn’t leave football last May because he couldn’t get open or catch passes anymore. Witten left because he wanted to follow Tony Romo up the highway to broadcast stardom.
But for once in his career, Witten ran the wrong route. Romo has charm and footwork – he’s Dimples the Quarterback.
Witten, meanwhile, had to share an announcing team with someone named Booger.
Forgive me. I’m actually a fervent fan of Anthony “Booger” McFarland. He’s fun to listen to. We both hold degrees from the same semi-esteemed institution of extraordinary tailgating and higher learning. He’s a natural as a network football analyst.
Booger probably should have gotten the No. 2 job on Monday Night Football alongside Joe Tessitore in the first place, but some lost soul at ESPN thought Witten could be Tony Romo 2.0.
Jason’s analyst gig started out shakily, and like a Scott Linehan game plan it seemed to veer downhill from there. Social media, as usual, was ruthless. The whispers that Witten was looking to leave the booth halfway into the 2018 season were likely true.
Thus, if his retirement last May seemed to be worst-case timing for the Cowboys, Witten’s adios to broadcasting comes at a provident moment. Free agent signings begin in two weeks. The draft begins April 25. OTAs start in mid-May.
As aimless as the franchise appeared to be after Witten suddenly left last spring, Owner Jones and son Stephen now have time to plan around their returning hero.
A suggestion, if I may: Just because Witten is back for a brief encore, the Cowboys would be wise not to ignore the need for a succession plan at tight end.
Do they really think they already have Witten’s heirs apparent in Dalton Schultz, Blake Jarwin and Rico Gathers? If not, they need to draft one – and soon.
Reaction to Witten’s news was swift. The best may have been from ESPN gasbag Stephen A. Smith, a professed Cowboys hater, who seemed distressed as he reported the news on his daily show.
“This cannot be happening,” Stephan A. lamented. “I like Jason Witten. I don’t need him helping them. They actually got a tight end again.
“I want to cry.”
Various outlets reported Witten’s one-year deal as being worth $5 million. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said it’s for $3.5 million.
Whatever. Witten and Owner Jones probably didn’t waste five minutes discussing the compensation. If nothing else, Witten’s wife can keep that diamond-encrusted “retirement” football – the greatest re-gift of all time. (It takes months to make those things. You think Jerry had one done in six days? Nope, nope.)
From afar, clearly Witten could see the issues, good and bad, that surrounded the 2018 team. I don’t think it’s any secret that he wasn’t a fan of Linehan. Jason’s statement Thursday make his motives seem clear.
He wants to win a championship. His friend, the head coach, almost has to win a championship. His life’s benefactor, the owner, is 76 and hasn’t been to the Super Bowl in 23 years.
Do the math. But no need to dwell on it.
For the Cowboys, it’s Christmas.
