Jason Witten - Pro Football Rumors

Jason Witten To Return In 2018

January 1st, 2018 at 11:45am CST by Micah Powell

Following the Cowboys’ 6-0 win over the Eagles on Sunday, tight end Jason Witten announced he would return for his 16th season in 2018, ESPN’s Todd Archer reports.

Witten was expected to return but left open the possibility of retiring in recent weeks. “I’m coming back. I love playing this game too much and I know that I can play it at a high level,” he said. After the University of Tennessee fired its head coach in 2017, Witten’s name appeared in coaching rumors but the tight end quickly shot down the reports.

Archer notes that Witten will become the longest-tenured member of the Cowboys in franchise history, surpassing Mark Tuinei, Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Bill Bates who each played 15 seasons.

Witten is signed through the 2021 season after signing a four-year extension in March. However, he has contemplated retirement each of the last two seasons. He finished the season with 63 receptions for his 14th consecutive 60-catch season.

Behind Witten on the depth chart, the Cowboys do have a promising talent in Rico Gathers, who played basketball at Baylor before being selected by Dallas in the 2016 NFL Draft. Gathers was placed on the practice squad in 2016, and enjoyed a breakout preseason in 2017 but was placed on injured reserve with a concussion.

Cowboys’ Jason Witten Discusses Future

December 25th, 2017 at 4:34pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys won’t be going to the playoffs this year, but Jason Witten hopes to help Dallas find redemption in 2018. The tight end says he intends on returning for a 16th NFL season, as Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News writes.

“I see too much positive,” Witten said. “I really do. I feel too good to think that would end, so my intentions are to keep playing.”

Witten had five catches for 39 yards in Sunday’s 21-12 loss to Seattle, giving him a total of 61 grabs for 543 yards and five touchdowns so far this year. This wasn’t Witten’s greatest season, but he was still extremely productive and durable.

In his decade-and-a-half with the Cowboys, Witten has yet to play in a conference championship game. Although he is hugely disappointed, Witten said that he has much to look forward to this weekend.

“It’s hard,” said Witten. “You put everything you got into it, for a long time, man. It’s a game. It is. But you go let them see Santa Claus tomorrow. I got a great family. I got a great support system. The next half hour just take a few deep breaths, try to process it and enjoy the moment, devour the strawberries, so to speak. I wish I could tell you that it would be easy. Having a good wife helps. I’ve been fortunate. I’ve lived the dream here for the last 15 years with this organization. Great ownership, great coaches, great opportunity. Disappointed that we couldn’t get it done this year.”

Cowboys Extend Jason Witten

March 28th, 2017 at 12:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Cowboys have signed tight end Jason Witten to an extension that will keep him in Dallas through the 2021 campaign, the club announced. The four-year deal has a maximum value of $29.6MM, but doesn’t contain any additional guaranteed cash, tweets Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News.

Set to earn a base salary of $7.4MM, Witten will count for $12.262MM on Dallas’ salary cap in 2017. That figure will not change, according to Archer (Twitter link), who indicates Witten’s cap charge will remain stagnant during the upcoming season. However, the Cowboys can still restructure Witten’s contract at any time to gain cap room.

Heading into today, Dallas was in the worst cap situation in the league, as the club had less than $2MM in 2017 cap space. While the Cowboys will pick up more room when Tony Romo is inevitably removed from the roster, the Witten extension could have handed Dallas more financial space. Surprisingly, Dallas opted not to give Witten a signing bonus that would have prorated over the next five seasons and lowered his 2017 cap figure.

From an on-field perspective, Witten’s extension allows the Cowboys to retain a still-productive tight end for the foreseeable future. 2016 marked Witten’s 14th season in Dallas, and the 10-time Pro Bowler posted 69 receptions for 673 yards and three touchdowns. He also remained remarkably durable, as he appeared in all 16 games for the 13th consecutive year (Witten’s only missed contest in his career came during his rookie campaign).

Witten will turn 35 years old this summer, so he’s now signed through his age-40 season.

Todd Archer of ESPN.com first reported the extension. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jason Witten Plans To Return Next Season

January 16th, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Sam Robinson

One year remains on Jason Witten‘s contract, and the Cowboys tight end as of now plans on playing it out. The 34-year-old stalwart said he wants to return for the 2017 season.

“I’m in my 14th year, and you know there’s a shelf life for everybody,” Witten said, via Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. “You put everything you have into it, and when you come up short it’s tough. It’s not about a paycheck. … I’ll take time to reflect on it. I love this team and this group of guys and so, yeah, that will be the plan for sure.”

The career-long Cowboy finished his 14th season with 69 receptions for 673 yards and three touchdowns, and while he’s fallen off the Pro Bowl and All-Pro pace of his earlier years, Witten finished sixth among tight ends in catches this season despite operating in a run-oriented offense. He added his first playoff touchdown in Sunday’s loss. Witten ranks seventh all-time with 1,089 career receptions — second among tight ends in NFL history.

He stands to make $7.4MM in base salary next season in the final campaign of a five-year, $37MM deal. But the tight end’s cap number spikes from $5.862MM this season to $12.262MM in what would be his 15th season. The future Hall of Famer restructured his deal to help the Cowboys’ cap situation.

Cowboys Restructure Jason Witten’s Contract

September 8th, 2016 at 10:08am CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys have restructured Jason Witten‘s yet again in order to give themselves additional cap space. The Cowboys converted $5.5MM of Witten’s $6.5MM base salary into a signing bonus, as ESPN.com’s Todd Archer writes. Thanks to the reworked deal, the Cowboys will save $2.75MM in cap room.

Witten, 34, is the third player to have his contract restructured after Orlando Scandrick and Sean Lee both agreed to move some money around. The Cowboys also restructured the deals of left tackle Tyron Smith and defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford earlier this offseason. Witten is signed through 2017 and is set to make $7.4MM next season with a cap figure of $12.262MM.

Witten has not missed a regular season game for the Cowboys since 2003, his rookie year. Last season, in yet another 16-game showing, Witten hauled in 77 passes for 713 yards and three touchdowns. Since becoming a full-time starter in Dallas, Witten has averaged 82 catches and 906 yards with five touchdowns per season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cowboys Restructure Jason Witten’s Contract

September 23rd, 2015 at 3:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys have restructured the contract of tight end Jason Witten, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes. The Cowboys were facing a salary cap crunch following the acquisition of quarterback Matt Cassel but they now have a little bit of breathing room after moving some money around with their star tight end.

Witten, earning a base salary of $5.1MM this year, was set to make $4.5MM during the final 15 weeks of the season. To create some cap space for 2015, the Cowboys turned $3.6MM of the remaining base salary into a signing bonus. The move adds $1.2MM to Witten’s cap figures in 2016 and 2017.

By acquiring Cassel, the Cowboys took on $1.76MM in base salary plus $2.15MM in playing time/postseason incentives, although those bonuses are not likely to be earned. Dallas will also owe $5.78MM to Greg Hardy for ten game roster bonuses once his suspension ends. Now that Witten’s money has been moved around a little bit, the Cowboys won’t have to sweat either one of those charges.

Right now, Witten is focusing on getting healthy for Sunday’s matchup with the Falcons. The tight end sprained both ankles and one of his knees in Sunday’s win against the Eagles and his status for this upcoming week is uncertain.

Cowboys Notes: Linehan, Witten, Bryant

June 13th, 2014 at 8:54pm CST by Rob DiRe

Jason Witten spoke with KESN-FM 103.3 about his excitement at working with new offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, in an interview transcribed by DallasNews.com. Witten said although Linehan has a pass-happy reputation, he believes the team will have an improved ground game in 2014. “I think people sometimes think he gets pass-happy. I don’t think that’s the case. He just plays his personnel,” said Witten. “He’s added his wrinkles to our system we already had in place. Ultimately, it’s about us executing better, playing better.”

Here are some other notes from Dallas-Fort Worth:

Witten also described how his quarterback is going to bounce back from offseason surgery, expressing his supreme confidence in Tony Romo. “I understand there’s a lot of criticism and until you win that big game and compete for championships, when you play that position, that’s gonna come,” said Witten. “But he’s working really hard. He looks great. I know his mental mindset. I’ve been around him a long time. I think he’s gonna come back better than he has ever before and it’s going to be a great year for him and, hopefully, for our football team.”
Cowboy legend Drew Pearson was on NFL Network discussing how his team needs to sign Dez Bryant to an extension, writes Jon Machota of DallasNews.com. “He’s really improved the last two years, his numbers have improved, and just his overall game, his overall leadership responsibility with the football team,” said Pearson. “He is the most influential player on that team right now. He’s kind of like Michael Irvin was to the team in the 90s. Dez can be that type of leader on the field and off the field for the Cowboys.”
The Cowboys lost a lot of production on the defensive side of the ball, with the departure of DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher, writes Todd Archer of ESPN.com. They still have George Selvie, Anthony Spencer, Henry Melton, and Jeremy Mincey. However, those four players have exactly two eight-sack seasons in their respective careers. Hatcher had 11 in 2013, and Ware has hit double digits every year of his career except his rookie campaign and an injury plagued 2013. Ware had eight sacks as a rookie in 2005.
Cowboys’ corner B.W. Webb struggled as a rookie in 2013, and could fail to make the 53-man roster this season, writes Archer. Archer called the Webb the team’s fifth or sixth corner at best, and noted he would need a very good preseason to stick with the team.

NFC Notes: Suh, Witten, Falcons, 49ers

May 21st, 2014 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters after practicing with his Lions teammates today, Ndamukong Suh attempted to reinforce the idea that he likes playing in Detroit and wants to remain with the team long-term, but his comments resulted in more questions than answers. As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press outlines, Suh alluded to having an opportunity on draft day in 2010 to be selected by a team besides the Lions, in the same way that Eli Manning pushed to land on the Giants rather than the Chargers.

“It is my choice. It is, for sure, my choice,” Suh said, when asked if he really had any say in which team selected him. “But like I said, that’s water under the bridge. I’m here in Detroit, I’m happy to be here in Detroit, I’m going to continue to play my heart out as I’ve always done and continue to do.”

Although Suh brought up the 2010 draft in order to illustrate his satisfaction with being a member of the Lions, it may have had the opposite effect, since it hadn’t been public knowledge that the defensive tackle even entertained the possibility of a Manning-esque move back in ’10.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

At age 32, Jason Witten is one of the oldest players on the Cowboys, but he said earlier this week that he hasn’t considered retirement at all, and doesn’t necessarily believe he’s in the final stages of his career. Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News has the details and quotes.
Asked about Atlanta’s receiving duo of Julio Jones and Roddy White, Falcons owner Arthur Blank said that he’d like to see both players remain with the club for their entire careers, writes Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Jones had his fifth-year option picked up for 2015, while White is entering the final year of his deal, so both players figure to discuss contract extensions soon. “We love Roddy, and Julio as well, so we’ll continue to work with them and their agents closely,” Blank said.
Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com passes along an interesting story from Tom Elliott of the St. Cloud Times about Bemidji State’s Zach Noreen, a basketball player who received a minicamp invite from 49ers GM Trent Baalke despite not having played a football game since 2009 in high school.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune and Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com have provided signing bonus info for the Bears‘ and Buccaneers‘ UDFA signings, respectively. We’ve updated our posts on those signings with those bonus amounts.