One of the Cowboys' all-time greats appears set to call it a career.
Tight end Jason Witten is expected to retire after a 15-year playing career and join ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcast booth as an analyst, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported the news first.
"[Witten] has some things to think about and discuss with his family from a professional perspective," said team owner Jerry Jones, who added that he spoke with Witten several times this week. "He also told me that those things are going to require a few more days of consideration, at least through the weekend. He's not made any decisions that are definite at this time, we have no announcement today, as it pertains to Jason's future other than to say that he's a wonderful, valued member of our organization and our family. With respect to Jason and his wishes, this is all we're going to say regarding that subject for the remainder of the weekend."
Witten, 35, would end a prolific career having appeared in 239 games with 229 starts, totaling 1,152 catches for 12,448 yards and 68 touchdowns.
The 11-time Pro Bowler holds numerous NFL records, including most receptions in a single season by a tight end (110 in 2012) and most receptions in a single game by a tight end (18 in 2012).
Witten's 1,152 career receptions rank fourth behind Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice (1,549), tight end Tony Gonzalez (1,325) and Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (1,234). He is second behind Gonzalez in career receiving yards and Pro Bowl appearances by a tight end.
Additionally, Witten established team franchise records, including most career receptions, most career receiving yards and most consecutive seasons with a reception, among others. Witten's 68 career receiving touchdowns ranks third in Cowboys history and fifth all-time among tight ends in NFL history.
Witten, a two-time first-team All-Pro selection (2007, 2010), joined the Cowboys as a third-round pick out of Tennessee in the 2003 NFL Draft.
Witten's departure leaves a void in Dallas' passing game. The Cowboys released wide receiver Dez Bryant leading up to the draft, and the duo combined for 1,398 yards and 11 touchdowns on 132 catches in 2017.
With Witten's impending retirement, and the recent release of Bryant, the Cowboys have seen three cornerstone pieces of the franchise leave since the end of the 2016 season. Quarterback Tony Romo, the team's all-time leader in yards passing (34,183) and passing touchdowns (248) retired in April 2017.
In the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cowboys used the 19th overall selection on linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. The Cowboys, however, could look to bolster the tight end and wide receiver positions over the next two days when considering Dallas is armed with nine remaining draft picks.
Dallas' current group of tight ends on the roster includes Rico Gathers, Blake Jarwin and Geoff Swaim. Of the trio, Swaim has nine career receptions, while Jarwin and Gathers have yet to haul in a catch.
As the Cowboys prepare for Day Two of the draft, options at the tight end position could include top draft prospects Dallas Goedert, Mark Andrews and Mike Gesicki.
ESPN was looking for the next Tony Romo for “Monday Night Football.” It is on the verge of settling for one of Romo’s best friends, Cowboys tight end Jason Wittten.
ESPN is reporting that it plans to hire Witten for the “MNF” booth, but Witten will first meet with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to break the news to him. ESPN declined comment on its own report, which stated Witten could potentially change his mind, if Jones can convince him.
Witten has told friends that if he were to receive the right broadcasting opportunity he would retire because he was excited to be on-air and to leave with his health intact, a source told The Post.
The Post first reported last week that Witten came in for an audition. FOX also had Witten in for a tryout, but it is trying to convince its No. 1 team, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, to do its new Thursday night package.
Romo retired last year from the Cowboys to become CBS’ lead analyst. He received strong reviews. Between Witten, Romo and Aikman, only NBC with Cris Collinsworth would have a lead game analyst who was not a Cowboy.
If Witten does in fact follow through and take the job, he will join new “MNF” play-by-player Joe Tessitore. ESPN has not officially announced Tessitore for the position, but The Post reported he was replacing Sean McDonough more than a month ago. Tessitore has been behind the mic in Bristol for the countless auditions in recent weeks. He has also spent the day with analysts as ESPN tries to find the proper chemistry. Apparently, he and Witten were a hit in executives’ eyes.
While it may be a two-man booth, ESPN could still opt to add the third voice to the crew.
Witten would be ending a 15-year career for the Cowboys. He is ESPN’s second choice after they were denied by Peyton Manning. ESPN wanted Manning badly and was willing to give him the same $6.5 million salary it had allotted Jon Gruden. ESPN likely would have extended to even $7 million, if Manning had interest. Gruden left for a $100 million contract to coach the Raiders.
Besides Witten, ESPN has auditioned many candidates, including Brett Favre, Kurt Warner, Randy Moss, Louis Riddick Jr., Booger McFarland, Rex Ryan, Greg Olsen and Joe Thomas. Any of them could be candidates for a third spot.
Moss and Warner would be the highest-powered names of those remaining, though ESPN could just stick with Witten as the lone analyst.
Don't start penciling in the Cowboys for a tight end in those Day 2 mock drafts just yet. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, at the introductory press conference for first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch, briefly addressed speculation and rumors that longtime Cowboys tight end Jason Witten will retire and join ESPN as an analyst for "Monday Night Football."
In short, Jerry said that he spoke with Witten and that no final decision about his retirement has been made just yet. Jerry then said he won't be addressing the situation any further this weekend, per Witten's wishes.
Jerry Jones: I've talked to Jason Witten several times this week, met with him a few hours ago and we've had great discussions. He has some things to think about and discuss with his family and he'll need a few more days of consideration. No final decision made on retirement. — Brandon George (@DMN_George) April 27, 2018
Via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, here's a video of Jerry's full statement:
Jerry Jones’ statement on Jason Witten pic.twitter.com/ySmygeHGG7 — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 27, 2018
In the meantime, rumors abound about the Cowboys' targets on the second day of the draft. One report has them targeting SMU's Courtland Sutton at No. 50 in an effort to replace Dez Bryant, while NFLDraftScout's Dane Brugler (who is extremely plugged-in down in Dallas) notes that they're doing extra homework on the Round 2 and 3 tight ends in preparation to possibly select one on Friday night.
The Cowboys won't say so, but I'm told they are doing A LOT of extra homework today on this TE group. They will consider drafting the position tonight. https://t.co/xxGLeiKZa1 — Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) April 27, 2018
Things appear to be very much in flux for Dallas right now, with the team undergoing pretty massive turnover in Dak Prescott's pass-catching corps. The team has already released Bryant and seen tight end James Hanna retire, and now Witten may call it quits as well. They've signed Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson at receiver, and it's possible we could see both preseason star Rico Gathers and backup Geoff Swaim take over larger roles at tight end. That still would'nt give them the most inspiring mix of weapons on the outside, so we should be on the lookout for them to add talent at those positions at some point during the draft, even if it's not Friday.
