Veteran TE Jason Witten tells ESPN that he’s retiring from the NFL and intends to sign a one-day contract with the Cowboys to retire as a member of the team.
“A coach once told me, ‘The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example,’” Witten tells ESPN’s Todd Archer. “As I hang it up, I walk away knowing that for 17 seasons I gave it my absolute all. I am proud of my accomplishments as a football player on the field and the example I tried to set off of it. Football is a great game that has taught me many valuable lessons, and I look forward to passing on that knowledge to the next generation.”
Witten, 38, is a former third-round pick of the Cowboys back in 2003. He was in the second year of his five-year, $29.6 million contract and set to make a base salary of $5.75 million for the 2018 season when he announced his retirement from the NFL back in May of 2018.
ESPN later hired Witten as a broadcast analyst for “Monday Night Football” and the Cowboys placed him on the reserve/retired list. After one year out of football, Witten returned to the Cowboys for the 2019 season.
Witten signed a one-year contract with the Raiders last year.
For his career, Witten appeared in 271 games for the Cowboys and Raiders and caught 1,228 passes for 13,046 yards receiving and 74 touchdowns over the course of 17 seasons. Witten was an 11-time Pro Bowl selection and made two All-Pro teams.
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