Jason Witten has had a wild chain of events over the past few years. After the 2017 season, he decided to call it a career as he joined ESPN’s Monday Night Football as the color analyst after a Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys. One year later, he made his return to the gridiron to play in 2019. He managed to become the team’s starter, but he simply wasn’t the same player as before.
A day after the Cowboys signed Blake Jarwin to a three-year $24.25M extension, we know what’s next in Jason Witten’s career. While many wondered if this was the end of the road for him as a player, his camp had said that he wanted to play another season, even if it meant leaving the silver and blue.
Well, Witten will keep wearing silver. Only this time, said color will be accompanied by black.
Former Cowboys’ TE Jason Witten reached agreement on a one-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, source tells ESPN.
A veritable MNF booth in Vegas.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2020
Jason Witten is signing a one-year deal with the Raiders that could earn him up to $4.75M in 2020.
Cowboys fans were in a weird position regarding Witten. After all, we’re not talking about any player here. We’re talking future Hall of Famer Jason Witten. Mr. Reliable. The tight end was one of the faces of the franchise for an entire generation of fans.
Watching Witten wear another uniform will be difficult. Hopefully, he’s given a role in which he can truly shine with Jon Gruden’s offense. It’s a huge surprise to see him land in Las Vegas, but that’s just how the NFL works.
This Jason Witten picture is by far the biggest one inside the Cowboys’ headquarters. It remained up after Witten retired. pic.twitter.com/aeTOd3Il9w
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) March 17, 2020
At some point, it’s time to move on. The Dallas Cowboys have done so. Jason Witten will always be remembered as a Cowboy, and I hope someday he signs a symbolic one-day contract to retire as such.
Witten will leave the Cowboys as the franchise all-time leader in career receptions (1,215), receiving yards (12,938), receptions in a single game (18), games played (239), consecutive games started (179) and second on all-time receiving touchdowns (72).
