RELEASED Official: Witten notifies team he is retiring

[Gameover]

If he had won a Super Bowl or two he might be considered THE greatest Cowboys player.

Not named Emmitt Smith, of course

 

[Rayman70]

Funny how easily we want breathlessly to blame Garrett for not getting Witten a ring. Think about the facts. In 2014, Dez CAUGHT WHAT maybe the winning TD...or at least positioned the ball on the 1 inch line for the go ahead score and the win!!!!! That would have meant we go on to the Championship game against a team we already beat once in Seattle!!!! That's not on Garrett! HE HAS HIS FAULTS. But in 2014,he coached his arse off and if not for heist pulled off by a hometown referee, we likely are playin for a TITLE!! Garrett would be considered an elite HC if 2014 had turned out differently. I guess sometimes ignorance is bliss. God love Witten..but him not having a title isn't the HC' fault. Most of it falls on the players,and then that idiotic call by a ref in 2014. Those are the facts.

 

[gimmesix]

My concern is that this is an indictment of the coaching staff and Witten’s doubt that they could contend. I find it very hard to believe he would have retired if he thought this team could make a run. Leaves a big hole in the leadership. Another HOFer who’s talent was wasted by the clown car of a FO.

Thanks for all the memories. He was a great player.

He should have doubts. The team couldn't do it with Romo, Witten and Dez in their prime, why would it have been able to do it with lesser players in two of those spots and an older Witten?

NOTE I'm not saying Dak's career is going to turn out to be less than Romo's, only that he shouldn't be expected to be at Romo's prime level at this point despite his ridiculously good rookie season.

 

[Plumfool]

I would not call Brooks a douchebag for not understanding why Witten will be inducted his first-year of eligibility. Instead, I would either say he is working with a false premise in Witten's case or intentionally creating clickbait.

I agree. The HOF is full of First Ballot players who didn’t “Revolutionize” their postion. But JW kinda did. There weren’t many tight ends that blocked and were an important part of a teams passing game prior to Witten.

Anyway good luck 82. Thanks for the memories.

 

[MarcusRock]

Funny how easily we want breathlessly to blame Garrett for not getting Witten a ring. Think about the facts. In 2014, Dez CAUGHT WHAT maybe the winning TD...or at least positioned the ball on the 1 inch line for the go ahead score and the win!!!!! That would have meant we go on to the Championship game against a team we already beat once in Seattle!!!! That's not on Garrett! HE HAS HIS FAULTS. But in 2014,he coached his arse off and if not for heist pulled off by a hometown referee, we likely are playin for a TITLE!! Garrett would be considered an elite HC if 2014 had turned out differently. I guess sometimes ignorance is bliss. God love Witten..but him not having a title isn't the HC' fault. Most of it falls on the players,and then that idiotic call by a ref in 2014. Those are the facts.

Not to have this discussion in a Witten retirement thread but those are not facts. For one, the call was correct by the rules and even if Dez did hold on to the ball and we score, we take the lead with 3+ minutes and GB only needing a FG to win. They got into range merely trying to run out the clock after they took over.

 

[Carson]

Tough to see him go!!

But man, can we have one controversy free offseason

 

[Ddisco22]

I would not call Brooks a douchebag for not understanding why Witten will be inducted his first-year of eligibility. Instead, I would either say he is working with a false premise in Witten's case or intentionally creating clickbait.

Ok ok, I'll admit that was harsh but hey don't write stuff you know isn't true

 

[Jracowboy]

We have a analyst on every network. Cowboy haters are gonna be sick!. Lol

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

It was a pleasure watching him. Hope he has great success in his new career path.

 

[MarcusRock]

Ok ok, I'll admit that was harsh but hey don't write stuff you know isn't true

The guy is not all that far off. Witten didn't revolutionize the TE position like the more athletic Gates did but was really, really good at his craft for a long time. Same as Tony Gonzalez. All 3 will be in the HOF but people will talk about the fact that Gates revolutionized the position. That might be one of the criteria for some but not for others and different players will be judged differently. I believe he's wrong about Witten not being a 1st ballot HOF but like @DallasEast said, he's probably mixing truth with sensationalism because he needs attention.

 

[Bowdown27]

I love Jason. He's an all time fan favorite and one of the toughest to play the game. guy broke his jaw came back next week. When he goes into the hall of fame I will be there with my son. Showing him one of the greatest cowboys and tight ends to ever play the game.

 

[Verdict]

Congrats to one of the all time greats. I wish him well in his endeavors. I think it's best for him AND the team. It's a win/win.

 

[Verdict]

All 3 of them are gone now. Tony, Dez and now Witten.

They never even sniffed a Super Bowl in all that time. So sad.

Part of that is on the organization, part bad luck and part officiating.

 

[ESisback]

He should have doubts. The team couldn't do it with Romo, Witten and Dez in their prime, why would it have been able to do it with lesser players in two of those spots and an older Witten?

NOTE I'm not saying Dak's career is going to turn out to be less than Romo's, only that he shouldn't be expected to be at Romo's prime level at this point despite his ridiculously good rookie season.

We didn't have the OL and/or defense for much of the Romo/Witten/Dez years.

 

[DejectedFan1996]

It’s about time. Glad he’s finally gone

 

[DejectedFan1996]

Funny how easily we want breathlessly to blame Garrett for not getting Witten a ring. Think about the facts. In 2014, Dez CAUGHT WHAT maybe the winning TD...or at least positioned the ball on the 1 inch line for the go ahead score and the win!!!!! That would have meant we go on to the Championship game against a team we already beat once in Seattle!!!! That's not on Garrett! HE HAS HIS FAULTS. But in 2014,he coached his arse off and if not for heist pulled off by a hometown referee, we likely are playin for a TITLE!! Garrett would be considered an elite HC if 2014 had turned out differently. I guess sometimes ignorance is bliss. God love Witten..but him not having a title isn't the HC' fault. Most of it falls on the players,and then that idiotic call by a ref in 2014. Those are the facts.

Why do people always forget in 2014 there was over 3 minutes left on the clock and GB had time outs.

 

[gimmesix]

We didn't have the OL and/or defense for much of the Romo/Witten/Dez years.

Yes, but now that we have the OL, running back, maybe a better defense, do we have the receivers? Without Witten or even with an aging Witten, would we have the tight ends? If not, then the passing game holds us back.

Garrett's process adds quality pieces slowly while filling in the blanks with stop-gaps. So far that's only resulted in quality pieces finishing their careers before the process is completed.

If I'm Witten, I don't see this team as being better than Philly right now or other championship contenders, so there's no reason to stick around for one more year.

 

[xwalker]

Not named Emmitt Smith, of course

If HOF voters had to pick the #1 player in the history of each team, Staubach would likely get that vote.

Mr. Cowboy is Bob Lilly but I think it's #2/#3 between him and Emmitt.

Next is likely:
Randy White
Witten
Aikman

Larry Allen was one of the best players but had a low profile and moved back to California.

 

[erod]

Off-season keeps getting better.

The production at tight end will drop significantly. Enjoy the "youth and athleticism", but Witten was still top half of the league in his current shape.

Meanwhile, we have a bunch of young nobodies.

 

[Section446]

The production at tight end will drop significantly. Enjoy the "youth and athleticism", but Witten was still top half of the league in his current shape.

Meanwhile, we have a bunch of young nobodies.

We weren't going to win this year, with or without him. We're building for two years from now.