Move over, Tony Romo. Another Dallas Cowboys player is coming to TV.
Tight end Jason Witten has decided to retire and will join ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” broadcasts, according to multiple reports. ESPN’s Todd Archer reports that Witten has informed owner Jerry Jones and Coach Jason Garrett of his decision. With Jon Gruden’s departure to coach the Raiders, the arrival of Witten means a reboot for the program, with ESPN replacing Sean McDonough with longtime college announcer Joe Tessitore for the 2018 season.
Witten, who turns 36 on Sunday, had been mulling his decision over the past week and he follows in the footsteps of one of his quarterbacks. Romo retired last year and immediately joined CBS’s top NFL team, receiving mostly kudos for his first season on the job. Walking away without winning a Super Bowl was a consideration for Romo, who pointed out that it probably was for Witten, too.
“It’s very difficult. I think that’s the biggest challenge walking away is that you didn’t accomplish the ultimate goal that you set out for,” Romo told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram last week.
“That’s something that’s hard. I don’t think you ever really — that’s never something you’re okay with. I just think you have to make choices with where you’re at in life and what’s going on around you. Your family at your side, they’re a big part of those decisions that you make. I think that you could chase that thing forever and it might be the next year, but it might be 10 years away. It’s a tough decision.”
Because Witten has been one of the Cowboys’ leaders, Romo thinks he’ll do well. After all, TV jobs are where former Cowboys players — such as Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Daryl Johnston, Darren Woodson and Don Meredith — and former coach Jimmy Johnson end up. He leaves a legacy that is secure, according to Romo.
“You can’t really put a number on what Jason Witten has done or meant,” Romo said. “He’s done really everything a Cowboy could do that you guys see, but also behind closed doors just within the facility and with the team.
“He’s the classic example every coach will use for everyone to follow. For every rookie, for every veteran he’s the guy that everyone’s going to look to and try to emulate. I think that standard will be with the Cowboys long after he’s gone. I don’t think he even understands yet that that’s what he put in place there is a standard of really just your routine and excellence day-to-day that every kid has to abide by now. He really was that guy.”
[Tony Romo’s smooth transition to TV makes it tougher for Jason Witten]
Witten finishes his playing career with 1,152 receptions (fourth behind only Jerry Rice, Tony Gonzalez and Larry Fitzgerald). He is the team’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 12,448 and is third all-time on the Cowboy with 68 touchdown catches.
Witten, who missed only one game in his career, shared what it takes for him to recover from one game and prepare to play the next in a feature with SI.com’s Peter King last season. Watching that piece makes it glaringly obvious why he would want to take the money and sprint to TV. Witten, like an increasing number of NFL players, adopted many of Tom Brady’s methods, including an emphasis on pliability in addition to dry-needling, water-pressure treatment, compression wraps and deep-tissue massage, as he recovered each week.
The Cowboys were eager to have him back, but team executive vice president Stephen Jones said there was no pressure on the tight end.
“I don’t think it’s our place to be talking him into something,” Jones said Wednesday (via the Dallas Morning News). “He knows we’re a much better football team with him than without him. We’d love to have him. At the same time, we’re going to be so supportive of him if he decides it’s time to make a change in his career path.
“We just want to give him all the time he needs. He deserves it.”
Evidently, he has made up his mind.
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