Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Longtime Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten signed with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason, and his new threads will take some getting used to
Witten, who rejoined Dallas after taking a year off in his rough Monday Night Football experiment, had a mutual parting of ways of sorts with the Cowboys when they fired Jason Garrett. Dallas went younger at the position, opting instead for Blake Jarwin.
At 38, Witten isn’t done playing just yet, and took his talents to Vegas and their flashy new Allegiant Stadium. Even if he’s not playing in front of fans this coming season, Witten hopes to make enough of an impact catching passes from Derek Carr that you notice him in his Silver and Black. At first, it’s a tough adjustment.
Jason Witten has a role to play on these Raiders
Witten is very much a leader the Raiders were missing in 2019. As one of the younger teams in all of football, a calm, savvy locker room presence will come in handy for Jon Gruden, even if it doesn’t necessarily pay dividends in the win column right away.
“If there’s a Mount Rushmore of NFL tight ends, he’s on it,” GM Mike Mayock said upon signing Witten. “He brings this wealth of knowledge about how to be a professional. We plug him in our locker room and we have one more veteran that can look around the room and tell people what to do and what not to do.”
Witten will slide in opposite of Darren Waller, who was Carr’s favorite target just last season. He caught 90 passes for and impressive 1,145 yards in an offense that lacked many other surefire receiving options.