Witten's Wisdom
Sports Illustrated|August 27 - September 30, 2018

WILL A ROOKIE ANALYST’S INSIGHTS AND LOVE FOR THE GAME BE ENOUGH TO REVIVE MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL?

Jack Dickey
Witten's Wisdom

JASON WITTEN used to shred the Redskins. Over 15 seasons, the Cowboys’ shatterproof tight end racked up nine touchdowns and more than 1,400 receiving yards against them. Last week, though, the Washington fans who were lucky—unlucky?—enough to find themselves in the owner’s club at FedEx Field before the Jets-Redskins preseason tilt were met with an unfamiliar sight: a nervous Jason Witten.

Sitting in a club chair alone, the 11-time Pro Bowler reviewed his game notes with the assiduousness of a premed student before an organic chemistry final. This was not the usual soft landing for a retired NFL star: Although the calendar read Thursday, Witten was less than an hour away from making his debut as the lead analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

This story is from the August 27 - September 30, 2018 edition of Sports Illustrated.

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This story is from the August 27 - September 30, 2018 edition of Sports Illustrated.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.