Jason Witten

Slater reports that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had talks with Witten to join the Cowboys’ coaching staff under Mike McCarthy and be an heir to the head coaching role. However, with McCarthy now moving on, the plan for Witten is in flux. Slater adds Witten could still be in the mix to join the Cowboys’ staff, not necessarily in a head coach role, but in some coaching capacity. The Cowboys have indicated interest in Deion Sanders, among others, for head coach. Jerry Jones has been “making calls” and Dallas has several options for their head coaching vacancy. Time will tell just who will helm Jerry’s squad for 2025 and beyond, whether it is Sanders, Witten, or some other option.

Witten, 39 in May, is signing a one-day contract with the Cowboys to retire as a member of the team he spent his first 16 years with before joining the Raiders for the 2020 season. Witten was out of the league in 2018 when he joined ESPN's Monday Night Football booth, but that was a total disaster for both sides. He came out of his hiatus for two more playing seasons and ends his Hall of Fame career with 1,228 catches for 13,046 yards and 74 touchdowns. He turned in four 1,000-yard seasons and four others of 850-plus yards, never missing a game from 2004 forward. Witten made 11 Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro twice. Witten made over $76 million in the NFL.

Witten spent 16 seasons with the Cowboys from 2003-2019. The most-recent version of the veteran TE wasn't all that great, as Witten set career-low marks in both yards per reception (8.4) and yards per target (6.4) in 2019. The fit with the Raiders is even more puzzling considering the presence of both Darren Waller and Foster Moreau. It's unlikely that Witten sees enough targets and snaps to work as a standalone fantasy option in 2020, but his presence undoubtedly lowers the ceiling of both Waller and Moreau.

It's unclear if Hill is going off of a source or simply speculating. Either way, the team's decision to tender restricted free agent Blake Jarwin at a second-round level would indicate that moving on from Witten is the plan. The Cowboys' long-time starting TE averaged career-low marks in yards per receptions (8.4) and yards per target (6.4) in 2019, but continued to play a near every-down role anyway. Owner Jerry Jones said recently that he hopes to re-sign Witten.