Dan Patrick: “If you had been more successful or been more well-received would you be playing football again or would you have stayed in the Monday Night Football booth?”
Jason Witten: “I think I would be playing still. I knew pretty early on, and it’s not a knock on that, I felt like I had a strong desire and fire that I still had to go play. I’m better not only as a player, but as a person through that experience. You go through some adversity, you want to get humbled, and you survive that year – I’m great for that. I don’t know you’re ever more alive than when you’re playing the game you love at the level you expect to play. It was always pulling on me.” (Full Interview at Bottom of the Page).
Listen to 11-time Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten join The Dan Patrick Show to discuss why he came out of retirement to return to a Dallas Cowboys team he was drafted by in 2003, and who he played 15 seasons for.
After Witten’s 15th season in 2017, he retired from the NFL and became a full-time announcer on ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecast.
After a one-year stay on the MNF cast, Witten surprisingly came out of retirement to rejoin a Cowboys team many expect to be a major Super Bowl favorite this season. In Witten’s first game back, he caught three passes for 15 yards, but added a touchdown as well; the 69th of his career.
Check out the interview below as Witten explains why he came back and says the criticism he received during his short stay in the booth didn't have any impact on his decision.