The Dallas Cowboys committed player has announced an unexpected retirement leaving Mike McCarthy completely perplexed.
After spending a season with the Raiders, Jason Witten, who Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones likes to refer to as “one of the five finest people I’ve ever met in football,” announced his retirement from sports on Wednesday.
Witten remarked, via ESPN, “A coach once told me, ‘The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.'” “I know that I gave it everything I had for 17 seasons as I hung it up. I’m pleased of the example I attempted to set off the field and of my achievements as a football player.
Naturally, the likely future Hall of Fame tight end is taking a break from football for the second time. He left the league after the 2017 campaign and rejoined the Cowboys in 2019 following a stay with ESPN.
Witten is going to “retire as a Cowboy,” which is undoubtedly both his and the Jones family’s wish, by signing a one-day deal with Dallas.
At 38, Witten’s primary responsibility as a Raider was to lead the locker room under head coach Jon Gruden. It’s also possible that he picked up some coaching savvy from Gruden, who, along with Jason Garrett and Bill Parcells, served as important mentors to Witten during a career that ultimately saw him surpass 13,000 receiving yards. being the sole tight ends to achieve so, along with Tony Gonzales.
Throughout his final years with the Cowboys, the University of Tennessee product frequently stated that coaching was his long-term goal.
“I look forward to passing on the knowledge I’ve learned from playing football to the next generation. It’s a great game,” Witten remarked.
