Jason Witten doesn't miss many things when it comes to football. One game in his nine pro season, and that was back during his rookie season when he had a broken jaw. But broken ribs, concussions and high-ankle sprains over the years haven't kept him out of games.
However, jury duty nearly kept him out on Tuesday, the first of a three-day minicamp.
Witten actually missed Monday, which included physicals, head shots and a team meeting. He also missed Tuesday's team meeting and the first 15 minutes of practice before showing up for the majority of practice.
Fortunately for Witten, the Denton County case was settled early, allowing the seven-time Pro Bowler to hurry back for practice.
Witten quickly made it out to the practice field and his teammates and coaches started throwing the nickname "Judge Witten" around.
"We've all got a civic duty to do," Witten said. "Proud to be a citizen and held up my end. It went a little longer than we thought but it was a good experience. I was just glad I was able to get back in time for practice."
Witten, who said he donated his pay to charity, said he never thought about skipping the rest of practice on Tuesday. Head coach Jason Garrett said he knew Witten was disappointed to miss any part of team activities.
"When I talked to him, it was killing him," Garrett said. "He's a good citizen. He cares about the judicial process, but he didn't want to miss minicamp practice one."
