If you want to know how highly respected Jason Witten is within the Dallas Cowboys organization, look no further than the way his teammates and those who work for the team supported the star tight end on Thursday.
Witten met with the media to formally announce that he is retiring from football, and the scene surrounding the press conference was surreal. As Witten made his way into the media room, dozens of players and team employees lined up to greet him.
Cowboys employees and players lined up to greet Jason Witten @NBCDFW @BlueStarBlog pic.twitter.com/k3hYHCy6HQ
— Noah Bullard (@noah_bullard) May 3, 2018
As expected, Witten’s presser was an emotional one.
Jerry Jones is teary eyed
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) May 3, 2018
Jason Garrett tearing up as Jason Witten talks about how much he has meant to him.
Big laughs when Witten pointed out that Jerry Jones taught him you can’t circumcise a mosquito
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) May 3, 2018
“Tony I would not have become the player I became without. Thank You.” – Jason Witten left his thank you to Tony Romo as the final one he made after thanking a number of teammates and former Cowboys.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) May 3, 2018
Jason Witten to Jerry Jones: “The hardest part of this decision is not being able to hand you that Lombardi Trophy.”
— Drew Davison (@drewdavison) May 3, 2018
Witten was plenty productive in 2017 and seemed like he was going to play for at least another season, but he has decided to accept a job as the lead analyst for “Monday Night Football” after ESPN made him an offer that was too good to turn down. The 35-year-old did not miss a single game over the last 14 of his 15 NFL seasons, and he finishes fourth all-time on the NFL’s receptions list behind only Jerry Rice, Tony Gonzalez and Larry Fitzgerald. You won’t find a player who is more universally respected than Witten, and that was evident on Thursday.
