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Jason Witten has decided to end his retirement after only one season. He will return to the Dallas Cowboys in 2019 to play his 16th season in the NFL. The Cowboys announced the decision on Twitter Thursday afternoon.
"The fire inside me to play and play this game burns too hard," Witten said in a statement posted on the Cowboys' official website. "This team has a big group of young rising stars, and I want to help them compete in a championship, it was a total decision, and I'm very comfortable with that. mud. "
Witten retired last season after 15 seasons during which he recorded 1,152 career receptions, making him the fourth-ranked NFL history. He spent the 2018 season as an analyst for ESPN's "Monday Night Football" broadcasts, alongside Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland.
The Cowboys replaced Witten last season with a tight-end committee comprising Geoff Swaim, Blake Jarwin, Dalton Schultz and Rico Gathers. Their offensive has struggled for much of the season, before turning into a big deal with former Raiders player Amari Cooper. After that, the team took off and finally won the NFC East and their first-round match against the Seahawks.
Bringing Witten back for another season is an interesting move for the Cowboys. Their tight-ends committee produced 68 catches for 710 yards and four touchdowns last season, a positive result compared to line 63-560-5 that Witten signed at what was thought to be his last season. as well as its 69-673-3. since 2016. And they have done it for a lot less than what Witten cost them, or that it will cost them next year, no matter which of the following reports turns out accurate .
The Cowboys also talked a lot during the off-season about how they want to make big changes to their attack to be more creative and take advantage of the space, which Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett think the new offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, can do. Witten does not exactly fit this type of plan, especially since he played in Garrett's offense for most of his career and that even at his peak he was a slow and unattractive player who coped more with cunning and instinct than with any physical advantage. This is also considered one of the tightest draft classes in a while and the Cowboys could have found a long-term replacement for Witten with one of their mid-term choices. Instead, they bring back a breath of the past for (at least) one more turn.
Dallas has plenty of space available this season to add to its list but has already publicly declared its intention to find long-term agreements for DeMarcus Lawrence, Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott. The first three are likely to occur during the off season while those of Elliott could wait until next year. This will occupy most of their space, as will a multi-million dollar contract for Witten. They may still have enough free space to move Earl Thomas, but they may not be interested in its price.
At this point, we do not know if ESPN will launch the search for someone who will replace Witten or simply move McFarland into the booth with Tessitore from his position, out of the way.
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