Jason Witten Injury Update
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- Jason Witten Injury Update
Jason Witten Injury Update
- Hot Button: Better QB/TE Tandem?
Hot Button: Better QB/TE Tandem?
Jason Witten suffered a slightly lacerated spleen in Monday's preseason game, and the star tight end's availability for the Dallas Cowboys' regular-season opener is uncertain.
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Witten suffered a "very serious" small laceration that caused bleeding but it is not ruptured, coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday afternoon.
Witten is not expected to undergo surgery, but the Cowboys will proceed cautiously and not allow him to participate in contact drills and want him to be "still and idle" for 8-10 days before being re-evaluated, Garrett said.
Witten will miss the remainder of the preseason, and "it will be very close" as to whether he plays in the Sept. 5 season opener against the New York Giants, according to the source.
One of the Cowboys' offensive captains, Witten was present at the team's practice Wednesday. He watched the morning walkthrough for about 25 minutes and left before the practice was completed.
Witten suffered the injury after taking a hit from Oakland Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain in the first quarter Monday, multiple sources said. Witten missed a few plays but returned and caught one more pass before the first-team offense called it a night.
Romo Would Miss Witten
Best Comp Pct By QB/TE Duo Since 2009*
| Peyton Manning/Dallas Clark | 74.1 |
| Tom Brady/Rob Gronkowski | 73.3 |
| Philip Rivers/Antonio Gates | 72.6 |
| Tony Romo/Jason Witten | 72.3 |
| *Minimum 100 attempts (28 qualifiers) | |
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Witten said he was OK after the game, but Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones admitted some concern when he saw the seven-time Pro Bowler leave the contest.
Losing Witten would be a major blow to an offense that relies on him heavily in the run and passing games. He has become the go-to guy for quarterback Tony Romo, catching 409 passes for 4,824 yards and 21 touchdowns since Romo took over as the starter in 2006.
If Witten, who signed a six-year extension in September 2011, cannot play against the Giants, the Cowboys will look to John Phillips as the starter.
Phillips has missed the past week with a sprained ankle and did not play against the Raiders. He has 22 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown in 32 regular-season games. James Hanna, a sixth-round pick, caught two passes for 15 yards and Andrew Szczerba had one for 20 yards against Oakland.
Witten has missed one game in his career because of a fractured jaw suffered in his rookie season. He is 55 receptions away from passing Hall of Famer Michael Irvin as the franchise's all-time leading receiver. In nine seasons, he has 696 catches, third-most by a tight end in league history, for 7,909 yards and 41 touchdowns.
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty ImagesCowboys TE Jason Witten suffered an injured spleen on a different hit, by Oakland LB Rolando McClain, during Monday night's game.
To help with the tight end numbers, the Cowboys will add Harry Flaherty to the roster and have waived/injured guard Bill Nagy.
Flaherty is the nephew of coach Jason Garrett and tight ends coach John Garrett. He worked out for the Cowboys last December. He went to camp last year with New Orleans and also can long snap.
Nagy, a seventh-round pick last year, suffered a high left ankle sprain in the first padded practice of training camp and is scheduled to visit a foot and ankle specialist in Charlotte, N.C., this week. If he clears waivers, he would revert to injured reserve. He started four games as a rookie before a fractured left ankle ended his season. The Cowboys had hoped he could compete for the starting center spot with Phil Costa.
Ed Werder
ESPNDallas.comEd Werder covers the Dallas Cowboys for ESPNDallas.com as well as the NFL for Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, NFL Live and SportsCenter. Werder also annually covers the NFL Draft and Super Bowl.
Todd Archer
ESPNDallas.comTodd Archer joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2010. He's covered the NFL since 1997 and the Cowboys since 2003. He covered the Bengals and Dolphins before arriving in Dallas. A Massachusetts native, Archer lives in the Dallas area with his wife and two children.
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