‘He has high standards.’ Jason Witten on his respect for Raiders coach Jon Gruden
Jason Witten opposed Jon Gruden three times when the Dallas Cowboys played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his NFL career.
From afar, Witten watched Gruden and knew what kind of a fiery coach Gruden was, especially how he demands a lot from his players.
“He has high standards for what he wants,” Witten told reporters Tuesday in a Zoom press conference.
The 38-year-old spent 16 seasons with the Cowboys. He had retired a first time after the 2017 season and joined ESPN as a color commentator.
That lasted just one season before he returned to the Cowboys in 2018.
Then it was a time for a new beginning.
Witten signed a one-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason.
After joining Gruden’s team, Witten said he has gotten to know the coach even more and why he’s been successful.
“Got a lot of respect for him as a coach,” Witten said. “Obviously, I knew his offensive mind and how he goes about it, the reason why he’s had the success he’s had. Really thrilled to be a part of this program that he’s building here in Vegas.”
Witten said that played a part in why he joined the Raiders.
While he said a return to Dallas wasn’t out of the question, joining the Raiders just appealed to him.
“This was a unique opportunity for me as well to come here and really I’m invigorated by this challenge and where I’m at in my career,” he said.
“Like I said it made a lot of sense from the fit, the role and the presence that I could have. I didn’t really overthink it and it’s just a great opportunity to go in there and compete and I’m very fortunate for that and I’ll challenge myself to play at a high level even where my age is and it’s been a lot of fun for me.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 1:52 PM.
