Witten might be at the end of his rope

[DogFace]

Booooooooooooo...

 

[Reality]

I just had a flashback ..

I first thought it was early in 2012 season .. I could even hear the "Witten's Done!" chants as if I was there for a moment. Then I thought it was 2013 and still heard the chants, though a little lower in volume. Finally, I was back in the present, and heard no chants until one person stood up and yelled, "Witten's Done!" and then .. nothing but the sound of crickets.

@Reality is strange sometimes ...

 

[Galian Beast]

I just had a flashback ..

I first thought it was early in 2012 season .. I could even hear the "Witten's Done!" chants as if I was there for a moment. Then I thought it was 2013 and still heard the chants, though a little lower in volume. Finally, I was back in the present, and heard no chants until one person stood up and yelled, "Witten's Done!" and then .. nothing but the sound of crickets.

@Reality is strange sometimes ...

I think you've assumed too much.

I don't think Witten can't continue doing what he has been capable of, I just don't think he is worth 8 million per year with his current level of production and involvement in the offense.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Folks been sticking a fork in Witten for years. I don't see much difference in his play now than years ago. Has he lost a step? Maybe but he was never a speed guy. Something else to consider is all the off the field stuff he does that is priceless and can't be replaced

 

[BHendri5]

you made a very good presentation, and I can see your point, but Hanna nor Escobar are ready to take over that starting spot. Those two are still playing the game off of their physical abilities thus Witten has some more Knowledge to pass on to them, understanding how to get open using their physical abilities as well as getting open using their intelligence, once one of them get that down pat hopefully while they are still young then it will be time for Witten to move out of the way thorough retirement, pay cut and moving to 2nd or 3rd string.
Witten will be a HOF. But he production is more than scoring TDs, his production cover the whole gambit, receptions, blocking, wisdom, I mean he always comes up big when we need a big pass reception, a first down reception, a reception that makes the 3rd down yardage lesser to get a first down, a key block, the right word or words at the right time, etc.
I do not care if we pay him that money, we will find a way to keep Murray if we really want to keep him and if he really wants to stay, ti will work itself out one way or another(don't sweat it just let it, that is a saying that I have) meaning that it will work out one way or another.

Witten will do whatever it takes on the field off the field and for the team when the times comes.

 

[ghst187]

Witten stays a Cowboy until he retires….end of story...

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

We have had these same types of threads the last four or so years. Sooner or later someone will get it right and climb a mountain and scream out #ITOLDYOUSO. Afterwards they will sprain their elbow from vigorously patting themselves on the back.

#LOOKATMECHUMMING

 

[Idgit]

Witten was our "running game" from 2010-2013.

Now his role has changed, and will remain changed barring significant injuries at OL and/or RB, which are definite possibilities, btw.

******, percy. If you're going to mention the 'i' word, you knock on @Wood.

That's a thing I'm trying to start here, by the way. Tagging the user 'Wood' when anything unlucky is said. Keeps the bad juju away. Plus, it'll probably start to get really annoying to @Wood.

 

[bark]

Witten and tony will go out together . The way it should be both as cowboys

 

[Idgit]

Witten and tony will go out together . The way it should be both as cowboys

I'd like that. Thing is, though, Wit's only 32. He could easily play another 3-4 seasons given that his game is not exactly based on supreme athleticism. And he's still playing at exactly the same high level he's always played at, both in the passing game and in terms of blocking. Actually, if anything, his blocking might have improved here under Pope, which is saying something.

 

[percyhoward]

Idgit

Maybe a code word is in order.

Here's to avoiding serious tacos.

 

[dstovall5]

Folks been sticking a fork in Witten for years. I don't see much difference in his play now than years ago. Has he lost a step? Maybe but he was never a speed guy. Something else to consider is all the off the field stuff he does that is priceless and can't be replaced

Exactly.

 

[tm1119]

I stopped reading the OP as soon as it suggested that 1 of the best tight ends to ever play the game wasn't a sure fire hall of famer

 

[Zekeats]

You should become more familiar with the tight ends across the league.

You should become more familiar with football and less familiar with just looking up fantasy football stats

 

[darthseinfeld]

We need to get Escobar more involved in the passing game before we even think about moving on from Witten. At this rate we will be lucky to get 20 catches from him this year

 

[cowboyschmps3]

He's part of what's working for Us, The Great Wall of Dallas.

 

[DandyDon1722]

I wouldn't be worried about either drop-off.

I think you're selling Witten's productivity in the current offense dramatically short. At the same time, he probably will be getting overpaid a fair amount this year and next. I'm in favor of overpaying him a little bit because of what he has meant to the organization, but he is a player whose replacement is already on the roster. Which stinks for us who are big fans of Jason's game.

I'm too lazy to compare Bennett's contribution to Jason's. But I will say that it's taken way too long for that loudmouth to develop into an actual player, and that I'm just really glad we didn't take that thrill ride through Planet Jupiter any longer than we actually did.

I agree about Bennett but there is no denying the organization was right about him. That was a home run pick, too bad he took five years to mature.

 

[bayeslife]

I think it's hard to tell if it's Witten that has dropped off more than the running game has been carrying the team. I mean what do his numbers look like if we have no running game? Probably another 100+ reception season.

 

[Risen Star]

It's easy to be this cocky when you have Gavin Escobar waiting in the wings.

 

[xwalker]

Before anyone states that I'm hating on Witten, I'm not. While I don't think he will get into the HoF easily, he is one of my all time favorite Cowboys. So while I know this isn't going to be a popular opinion, I think objectively there is no other argument to be made.

One thing you have to look at though, is his cap hit for next year. Is Witten actually worth more than Murray in a more running based offense?

We have two tight ends in Hanna and Escobar that can step up here given the opportunity, and I think the drop off would be smaller than Murray to Randle.

A lot of us have pointed out that we don't want to pay a lot for a running back, but why are we so willing to pay a tight end who doesn't really match up with his peers in terms of scoring productivity. We were all so quick to push Bennett out of Dallas, and this year Bennett might be the better of the two tight ends. He just never got a chance here in Dallas.

8.5 million dollars for a tight end that doesn't score touchdowns. I think that is money that can be better spent.

So I would say the front office should approach Witten for a reduction in pay, again not because he isn't a good player anymore, but because the amount of money doesn't make sense. He isn't going to get paid 8+ million in free agency, and I think his agent would recognize that. I think he would be lucky to get 4 million a year in free agency.

My favorite player on the team is actually Romo, and I think he should take a pay cut next year too, to get that ring. Next year might be the best chance this team has to win a super bowl. If you see veterans like Romo and Witten who are nearing the end of their careers drop their compensation, we can really do something on defense next year. A combination of a draft focused almost entirely on defense with some additional spending capacity for defensive free agents... I could easily see this team being the best in the NFL.

The reason I brought this up is mainly because many people (myself included for the most part) don't believe in paying Murray a lot of money, but then I thought at the same time, why are we okay with how much money is going towards Witten? Murray represents a much larger portion of our offense than Witten, and while his success might be more related to our offensive line, I'd worry about a drop off to Randle or even Williams compared to the drop off from Witten to Escobar/Hanna.

The cost difference in having him on the roster or not having him on the roster is 5.1M, not 8.5M. Regardless of June 1st cut or pre-June 1st cut, the total amount to keep him is 5.1M. The difference in 8.5M and 5.1M is 3.4M. That amount hits the cap at some point with or without him on the roster.

Also, just curious, were you for or against cutting Ware?