Jason Witten is going to have to get used to not doing much of anything if he wants to play in the season opener next month.
Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday that his seven-time Pro Bowl tight end sustained a “slightly lacerated” spleen in the exhibition opener Monday night against Oakland.
The best way for Witten to heal is to remain as inactive as possible.
“It’s a very serious injury and we’re really taking this thing day by day,” Garrett said. “... We’ve just got to make sure he heals as well as possible, as quickly as possible.”
Witten is expected to miss the rest of the exhibition season. The Cowboys open the season Sept. 5 at the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
Garrett said doctors will reassess Witten next week “after we’ve had a few days of him not doing anything.” Surgery would be an option if the spleen isn’t healing properly by then.
Witten apparently got hurt after he caught a pass from a scrambling Tony Romo and was immediately hit from the side by Oakland linebacker Rolando McClain. The play resulted in a 2-yard loss.
“Asking Wit to be still and idle is a hard thing, that’s the biggest challenge right now. But he has to do that, he just has to let time heal it,” Garrett said.
BRONCOS LB GUILTY
Jurors convicted Denver Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams of driving while ability-impaired and driving without headlights.
Williams, a first-round pick in 2006 out of Miami, was charged with driving under the influence and traffic charges from a November 2010 incident, but the jury returned the lesser verdicts after a trial that lasted less than a day.
Williams already is facing a six-game suspension for failing an offseason drug test.
Williams left court with his attorney without commenting. He wasn’t immediately sentenced.
It was not clear how the verdict might further affect Williams’ ability to play.
EXTRA POINTS
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, the defensive player of the year in 2008, underwent left-knee surgery, clouding his chances of returning in time for the start of the regular season. ...Broncos defensive end Jason Hunter had surgery on his torn triceps and is out four months, and guard Chris Kuper had surgery on his broken left forearm and is out four to six weeks. ... Jacksonville left tackle Eugene Monroe, the No. 8 overall pick in 2009, left the practice field on a cart after getting hit in the head during drills and was being examined for a possible concussion. ... Receiver Chad Johnson briefly lobbied in vain to keep his job when he was cut by Miami. The Dolphins terminated Johnson’s contract after he was arrested in a domestic battery case. ... Detroit running back Mikel Leshoure, who missed all of last season with a torn Achilles tendon and is suspended for the first two games of this season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy, returned to practice after missing time because of a right hamstring injury. ... The Cleveland Browns reached an out-of-court settlement with former center LeCharles Bentley, who had sued them in 2010 over a career-ending staph infection.
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