Jason Witten knew early on in the offseason that he had a chance to return to play his 16th season with the Cowboys.
But what if that opportunity wasn't there? What if the Cowboys had already invested significantly at the tight end position after he decided to retire and join the Monday Night Football broadcast team the year before?
Would Witten have missed playing the game so much that he'd join another NFL franchise? ESPN's Todd Archer posed that question to the veteran, which reportedly caught Witten a little off guard.
“I never had to get down to that road because I knew I had this opportunity fairly early,” Witten said Wednesday. “I don't know that I can answer that if this opportunity wasn't there. Would I think about it? I don't know that I could've seen myself wearing another uniform. But I was pretty adamant that I was ready to get back in there and play.”
Witten, 37, is the Cowboys’ all-time leader in games played, receptions and receiving yards. He will enter the team’s Ring of Honor at some point after his playing career ends.
Although his workload for the upcoming season is yet to be finalized, Witten knows it will be less than he played in previous seasons when he was on the field for almost every offensive snap. He just isn't that player anymore at his age.
The Cowboys are expected to find more opportunities for third-year tight end Blake Jarwin and last year's fourth-round pick Dalton Schultz.
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