Conflicting Reports Regarding Jason Witten’s Availability For Week 1

Tony Romo reportedly mentioned that TE Jason Witten will play in the team’s season opener, per Bart Hubbuch.

Previous reports indicated that Witten was “extremely unlikely” to be available on Wednesday. Considering the injury that he’s dealing with, this would be an impressive recovery by Witten. A lacerated spleen typically keeps a player out for

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ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that Cowboys TE Jason Witten is “extremely unlikely” to play in Wednesday night’s NFL opener.

Witten suffered a lacerated spleen a few weeks ago, but has practiced on a limited basis.

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Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News writes that Cowboys tight end Jason Witten has yet to be medically cleared to play in the regular-season opener on Wednesday against the Giants.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Friday morning on KRLD-FM that the team will weigh whether or not to play Witten, but he did suggest that giving him another 10 days of non-contact could allow him to be ready in time for Week 2’s game against Seattle.

“It’s ultimately our decision because no one can go on the field if I don’t want him on there, and certainly that holds true for the head coach as well,” Jones said, “The other thing is we could let Witten  gain another 10 days at least before we play Seattle, which would be no contact here for the Giants game.”

Witten is scheduled to meet with his doctor again next week in hopes of then being medically cleared to resume contact.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter mentions that Dallas Cowboys still aren’t sure of the extent of TE Jason Witten’s spleen injury.

According to Schefter, the fact that they’ve yet to determine the severity “suggests that they should be worried.”

Witten may still require surgery, but that decision will not be made for another week, so the Cowboys will have to begin preparing John Phillips and James Hanna to step in and replace him while he’s out. This is the type of situation that makes wish you would have just re-signed Martellus Bennett and prevented him from signing with your division rival. Hindsight, as you know, is always 20-20, but the Cowboys will have to hope that Witten doesn’t miss too much time.

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Pro Football Talk reports that a source has informed them that the Dallas Cowboys will be without TE Jason Witten for at least the rest of the preseason and possibly more.

Witten’s reportedly dealing with a spleen injury that caused some internal bleeding. Witten took a serious hit from Raiders MLB Rolando McClain, during the team’s Monday night opener and is almost certainly the cause of the injury.

The Cowboys seem to always be dealing with injuries on the offensive side of the ball. Miles Austin continues to struggle with his bothersome hamstring, which is something that Dez Bryant‘s has also been dealing with. Losing Witten is really a big deal for the Cowboys, as their backup options are question marks at this point in time. Hopefully, Witten’s able to make a quick recovery and return in time for the start of the season.