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IRVING – When Jon Kitna heard the Cowboys needed a third-string quarterback after Tony Romo went down with a back injury, he picked up the phone and gave Jason Garrett a call.
“I think he was gung ho,” Garrett said. “He actually reached out to us.”
Kitna, 41, played 15 seasons in the NFL, spending his final three with the Cowboys before calling it quits after the 2011 season. He’s spent the last two years coaching football and teaching math at his high school alma mater, Lincoln High in Tacoma, Wash.
“My comment back was, ‘Are you serious?’ He said, ‘Absolutely,’ ” Garrett said. “He was excited about it. He spoke to his family about it, and it just made sense to us. We’ll see what he’s able to do here today and over the next couple of days and see how well he functions.”
The Cowboys chose Kitna over a handful of younger QBs, including David Carr.
“We felt like when you looked at the landscape of guys who can help us on short notice, Kitna was a guy who kind of rose to the top of that,” Garrett said. “We have great history with him. He’s been a heck of a football player in this league for a long time. He started a lot of games for us, knows this offense, knows this environment and we felt like on short notice, he would give us the best chance if he did in fact have to play in a ball game.”
Kitna went 4-5 as a starter in 2010 after Romo broke his collarbone.
As an NFL starter, Kitna went 50-74, passing for nearly 30,000 yards 169 TDs and 165 interceptions.
To make room for him, Dallas released receiver/kick returner Micheal Spurlock.
“(Defensive line coach) Rod Marinelli made the comment that the math scores surprisingly have plummeted the last couple of years, and Kitna kind of burred up and said, ‘Not in my class,’ ” Garrett said. “But you know, he’ a very active guy. Kit loves to throw the ball. He’s a couple of pounds off his playing weight. He’s out there (on the field) every day. He said he would run scout team for the high school team and give them a really good look like he gave us great looks when he was here.
“So he’s a very active guy. He’s a mentally tough guy, a mentally strong guy. And he’s certainly very young at heart. So it was good to have him back, good to have him back in the meetings and excited to see him practice today.”
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“I think he was gung ho,” Garrett said. “He actually reached out to us.”
Kitna, 41, played 15 seasons in the NFL, spending his final three with the Cowboys before calling it quits after the 2011 season. He’s spent the last two years coaching football and teaching math at his high school alma mater, Lincoln High in Tacoma, Wash.
“My comment back was, ‘Are you serious?’ He said, ‘Absolutely,’ ” Garrett said. “He was excited about it. He spoke to his family about it, and it just made sense to us. We’ll see what he’s able to do here today and over the next couple of days and see how well he functions.”
The Cowboys chose Kitna over a handful of younger QBs, including David Carr.
“We felt like when you looked at the landscape of guys who can help us on short notice, Kitna was a guy who kind of rose to the top of that,” Garrett said. “We have great history with him. He’s been a heck of a football player in this league for a long time. He started a lot of games for us, knows this offense, knows this environment and we felt like on short notice, he would give us the best chance if he did in fact have to play in a ball game.”
Kitna went 4-5 as a starter in 2010 after Romo broke his collarbone.
As an NFL starter, Kitna went 50-74, passing for nearly 30,000 yards 169 TDs and 165 interceptions.
To make room for him, Dallas released receiver/kick returner Micheal Spurlock.
“(Defensive line coach) Rod Marinelli made the comment that the math scores surprisingly have plummeted the last couple of years, and Kitna kind of burred up and said, ‘Not in my class,’ ” Garrett said. “But you know, he’ a very active guy. Kit loves to throw the ball. He’s a couple of pounds off his playing weight. He’s out there (on the field) every day. He said he would run scout team for the high school team and give them a really good look like he gave us great looks when he was here.
“So he’s a very active guy. He’s a mentally tough guy, a mentally strong guy. And he’s certainly very young at heart. So it was good to have him back, good to have him back in the meetings and excited to see him practice today.”
Continue reading...