Jason Witten Says He Wants To Keep Playing For Cowboys - But ...
Jason Witten says he wishes to continue playing football for the only organization he's ever known, the Dallas Cowboys.
What he does not say is if the feeling is mutual.
"I realize,'' the iconic tight end said via a note from Jon Machota, "I'm a free agent too in March.''
The Cowboys, from COO Stephen Jones on down, have been quiet about any commitment to a roster spot for Witten, New coach Mike McCarthy told us inside The Star that he has discussed with Witten the many career options the long-time player has before him.
"Any time a new staff comes together ... I've played a long time,'' Witten said. "So I realize that may mean somewhere else too."
Witten said in addition to having talked with Mike McCarthy, he's also stayed in contact with team owner Jerry Jones, who of course has often called Witten “one of the top five people I’ve met in football.''
If there was a movement from the Jones family to orchestrate a Witten retirement and then a prominent spot on the coaching staff, that's been quashed by McCarthy's hiring of others without him.
There have been reports that Witten might play in another NFL city. A source inside The Star tells CowboysSI.com that such scenarios -as difficult as they might be for team owner Jones - have been broached.
Witten himself has said he plans to go into coaching following retirement, but at 37, the future Hall-of-Famer obviously hasn’t yet decided to stop playing. In fact Chris Mortensen of ESPN is mentioning the possibility of him playing for the Giants, where his old coach Jason Garrett was just hired as offensive coordinator.
Witten returned to Dallas after a year in the ESPN broadcast booth and considered himself productive in 2019 as he had 63 catches for 529 yards and four touchdowns.
While Witten could accept a Cowboys job as a lower-level coach, or in scouting or in administration (McCarthy, with unilateral power to hire his own staff has tabbed Lunda Wells to supervise tight ends) it now appears that one of his “options” might be to work against the Cowboys rather than with them.
"I think it will be a pretty quick decision,'' Witten said back in Week 17 of his retirement choice timetable. "When I’m done playing, (coaching is) something I’d like to do, for sure.''
He's apparently made the decision to keep playing. Now he just needs an NFL team to agree with his decision.
