:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59703651/619361868.jpg.0.jpg)
Last week Jason Witten officially retired from the Dallas Cowboys and the National Football League.
His retirement was a ceremony fit for The Star in Frisco and the one he wore on his helmet for 15 years. Witten was a superstar who played his entire career with the franchise, then was able to walk away from the game on his own terms while still playing at a legitimate competitive level. It deserved a parade.
The procession for Witten was, as the cliché goes, Texas-sized, and so were the speeches. Jerry Jones spoke at great length about what Witten has meant to the club, and Jason himself spoke about his career and the grit he gave each and every day.
A different Jason also spoke during the retirement press conference, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. There was a lot of emotion coming from everyone in the room, and Garrett might have been the main culprit.
Amidst all sorts of compliments regarding the future Hall of Famer, Jason Garrett took the opportunity at hand to tell a story about Jason Witten. It revolved around training camp in 2015 and a presentation that Witten gave to the team about his famed route, Y Option.
The story was insanely detailed, a credit to Garrett’s memory and appreciation for the game of football. It tugged at heartstrings, and if you thought it was great before, wait until you get a load of this.
.@JasonWitten was asked to give a presentation on his signature play.
— NFL (@NFL) May 10, 2018
And it brought his head coach to tears. pic.twitter.com/LVKnvgrxx0
The video above is a work of art by the NFL with splicings of Witten’s career, highlights, and the specific play in question that Garrett talked about Witten presenting. If you didn’t see the actual retirement press conference, know that Jason Garrett spoke everything you see here completely from memory. There was no video then, but the video now is an incredible added touch.
There’s no doubt that this video will be played for years and years when it comes to Jason Witten, and really when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys. That 4th and 6 against Detroit was a landmark moment for the team this century, and again it’s worth noting just how specifically Garrett has the details cemented in his brain.
Who needs a hug?