Jason Garrett’s highlight as an NFL player came on Thanksgiving Day in 1994 when he started in place of an injured Troy Aikman and led the Dallas Cowboys to victory over the Green Bay Packers.

Some thirty years later, Garrett revealed what he did with one of the souvenirs he earned that day.

John Madden and Pat Summerall were present for Garrett’s performance on Thanksgiving Day in 1994. When the game was over, Garrett (along with teammates Charles Haley, Nate Newton and Emmitt Smith) received a turkey leg from Madden. In 2024, Garrett was present for the Thanksgiving evening game at Lambeau Field between the Packers and Miami Dolphins. Early in the fourth quarter, Mike Tirico – who was calling the game with Garrett – brought that up.

“Jason, John Madden and Thanksgiving meant turkey legs,” Tirico said. “You were once the recipient of a Madden turkey leg.”

“Yes, I definitely was,” Garrett said. “And John Madden meant so much to football. I was thinking about it. LeRoy Butler talked about him earlier. Everyone felt like they had a relationship with John Madden. He did so much for football. I still remember that day. It was 30 years ago, in 1994. We beat the Packers and Madden was a big part of that.”

After talking about how that 1994 game went, Tirico asked Garrett an important question.

“What happened to the turkey leg?” Tirico asked.

“You know, I had it in the freezer,” Garrett said. “It was wrapped in aluminum foil.”

“For how long?” Tirico responded.

“I’ve probably had it for fifteen years. Then we finally moved.”

What did Jason Garrett do with the turkey leg John Madden gave him for his 1994 Thanksgiving performance?

“I had it in the freezer, it was wrapped in aluminum foil, I had it for probably 15 years. Then we finally moved.” pic.twitter.com/rpD683VcEF

— Terrible announcement (@awfulannouncing) November 29, 2024

Garrett continued.

“I called my wife the other day,” Garrett noted. “I said, ‘Do we still have the turkey leg?’ She said, ‘No, it’s long over.’”

That’s a shame. We’d love to see what that turkey leg looks like now.

Or maybe not.

(Photo credit: NBC/Fox)