Jason Witten talks Jason Garrett, tight ends, broadcasting and more

We spoke with Tony Romo last week. He told us that finding something that fills that competitive void for him was really key in his retirement. Have you felt the same way towards broadcasting and diving into that process following your retirement?

JW: Yeah. Look, for 15 years you give it everything you got. I certainly tried to do that the way I played. It was every waking moment. The training. The mental aspect. And the older you got the more you mature, I think the more challenging it gets.

Obviously, you’re fighting off Father Time. But your expectations, you’re on the clock. Your standard, your expectations of how you perform get higher and higher.

The main thing for me is I’ve just kinda taken that same approach into broadcasting. The way I prepare, the way I study. It’s a little bit different in that you’re not just focused on just that one opponent you’re going against. You have a bigger view of the entire league and how you project it. So, it’s been great to stay around the game that I love so much. I wish I could play forever, but it just doesn’t work that way.

So, yeah, it’s been great to find this passion and I’m trying to figure it out. I know I got a long way to go but I really enjoy the guys I get to do it with and the challenge to go out there and be a good listen. Something that the fans enjoy.

Daryl Johnston said that being able to answer questions postgame as a player, especially after a loss, was kind of like on-the-job training for a future career in television. Do you agree?

JW: Oh certainly. And Dallas, very much so the case. The lights are bright in Dallas and it’s been that way for a long time. Being America’s Team and going back to the standard that was created with Bob Lilly and Roger Staubach, and certainly the group in the nineties. And, so you’re out there.

What Jerry’s done, he’s given the media a lot of access. And one of the things I’ve always tried to do is be honest and fair, present myself and be available. Just treat them how I would want to be treated if I was in the media.

And so I think going through that, those interviews aren’t always smiles and laughs. Some of them are tough, and there emotional, and there’s tough questions that are asked. And so I think it prepares you to be able to go handle a situation like this.