During the course of this past weekend, there was a report that emerged that the Dallas Cowboys had attempted to convince recently retired tight end, Jason Witten, to make a comeback this season.

This was all met by a strong denial from team owner Jerry Jones that this type of dialogue between both sides never occurred. Despite all of that, Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk has brought clarity to the entire matter stating that Witten wouldn't have been able to return to the team at this point in the season even if he wanted to because he would have had to been reinstated prior to Week 13.

Witten is on the Cowboys’ reserve/retired list. Players on the reserve/retired list can’t be reinstated after Week 13, according to the NFL. ESPN posted the story after Week 13.

The only way for a retired player to return would be for the team to waive him from the reserve/retired list with no guarantees of him passing through waivers unclaimed.

This may have largely been a non-story at this point in time given that the deadline date had already passed, it may have solely been a story brought to light due to the fact that the Cowboys had reached out to Witten at all. It could have been the intended crux of the report rather than that the team had wanted him to make his return in the past week.

If the rumors do ring true, then there is a chance this discussion between head coach Jason Garrett and Witten could have started much sooner than just the last few weeks. Nonetheless, this should bring an end to that chatter lingering any further this season.

Witten has already put together a Hall of Fame-worthy career where he currently ranks second all-time in career catches and receiving yards by tight ends, only trailing Tony Gonzalez. Witten is also 21st all-time in receiving yards (12,448) and fourth in receptions (1,152). He is also second on the Cowboys in receptions, third in total receiving yards, and second in touchdown catches.