Cowboys Guarding Against Witten Being “Dumb-Tough”

Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten suffered a lacerated spleen in Monday's preseason opener

Jason Witten is out for the rest of the preseason with a lacerated spleen, suffered in the preseason opener on Monday in Oakland, but the veteran tight end believes he’ll be just fine.

Where the Cowboys see a potential problem is in Witten’s toughness; usually a huge asset to an NFL player (and particularly a tight end), the team doesn’t want the five-time All-Pro to take any chances with his health, just because his inarguably lofty threshold of pain might allow him to--or in a word, better safe than sorry.

“He’s a little bit down, but the biggest concern for him is that he loves football so much that it’s killing him that he can’t be out here,” tight ends coach John Garrett said, per the Dallas Morning News. “The thing you have to guard against with him is being dumb-tough, but this is an internal injury and he’s smart enough to know that he will [do] exactly what the trainers and doctors say. We have to wait until it heals and they’ll continue to monitor it and when he’s cleared he’ll be ready to go.”

For now, the Cowboys are planning on allowing the spleen to heal on its own, but surgery isn’t totally out of the question. Team doctors will continue to evaluate the veteran over the next week or so, and go from there.

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