The Dallas Cowboys will likely be without longtime tight end Jason Witten in 2020. The star player seems to have come to grips with that and is ready to finish his career with a new team.
The 37-year old recently talked to Jon Machota of The Athletic . While he did say that he wanted to stay with Dallas, he seemed to understand things had changed with America’s Team.
Head coach Jason Garrett was fired by the team after nine full seasons and one half-season as the interim head coach. That sparked some talk the tight-end might follow his former coach to the New York Giants, as Garrett has taken the offensive coordinator job in the Big Apple.
While Witten says he would like to stay with the Cowboys, he understands he could be playing somewhere else when the season kicks off in September. Machota tweeted the following quote.
“But I realize I’m a free agent too in March. Any time a new staff comes together, I’ve played a long time, so I realize that may mean somewhere else too.”
The Dallas Cowboys haven’t come out and said whether or not they are planning on trying to retain their star tight end. Some analysts believe the team is going to move on from Jason Witten after he spent his entire career, to date, with the team.
The potential Hall-of-Famer started his playing days back in 2003 as both a tight end and wide receiver. Despite starting just seven games, he hauled in 35 passes in his rookie season. He took over the starting role in 2004 and has been the go-to man since.
Prior to the 2018 season, he retired but returned in 2019. It appears that he didn’t miss a step during his year off; last season, he started all 16 games and caught 63 passes for 529 yards and four touchdowns. Now 37-years old, Witten has made it clear he’s not ready to go back into retirement.
According to ProFootballTalk , the tight end has kept in touch with the Dallas Cowboys since the season ended. He’s talked to owner Jerry Jones and new head coach Mike McCarthy.
Still, Witten knows he might have to find a new uniform to put on in 2020. He’s not the only veteran player who could be starting over in a new city. On Thursday night, Tom Brady posted a cryptic picture on Twitter that New England Patriots fans believed meant he was leaving the team. There’s been talk since the season ended the quarterback could continue playing for a new team .