Report: Jason Witten to Leave Cowboys for ESPN

Jason Witten will retire from the NFL and join ESPN’s Monday Night Football crew, according to ESPN.

The news was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter:

Jason Witten is retiring from the Dallas Cowboys and joining ESPN as an analyst for Monday Night Football, per @toddarcher.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 3, 2018

Jason Witten finishes his HOF-caliber career with 1,152 catches, ranking 4th in NFL history, trailing only Jerry Rice, Tony Gonzalez and Larry Fitzgerald.

Witten is the Cowboys' all-time leader in receiving yards (12,448) and 3rd in franchise history with 68 receiving TDs.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 3, 2018

Jason Witten will be missed in Dallas. pic.twitter.com/d25FPxhA4w

— ESPN (@espn) May 3, 2018

According to Pro Football Talk, “Witten, who will turn 36 on Sunday, is still a good enough player that the Cowboys were hoping to keep him. But his “production declined last year, and his 63 catches for 560 yards were his lowest totals since he became the Cowboys’ starting tight end in 2004.

“It’s the second straight season that a Cowboys player has retired and gone into the broadcast booth. Last year, Witten’s friend and longtime teammate Tony Romo retired after the Cowboys released him and took a job with CBS, where he got rave reviews as an analyst. ESPN can only hope Witten is as successful — and the Cowboys can only hope to identify a young tight end who replaces Witten as well as Dak Prescott has replaced Romo.”

The Cowboys also cut longtime receiver Dez Bryant this offseason. With the departures of Bryant, and now Witten, the Cowboys have lost nearly 1400 yards of production from their offense.

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn