Jason Witten is an NFL icon and one of the best tight ends of all time, but that status wasn't enough for the Dallas Cowboys to offer a contract to the lifelong member of their franchise. Instead, after coming out of retirement, Witten joined up with the Las Vegas Raiders for the 2020 season.

Raiders General Manager Mike Mayock has some strong words on Witten's career and his future with the franchise in a story on NBC Sports by Charean Williams.

“Here’s the way I look at it, and I think Jon [Gruden] and I looked at it the same way: If there’s a Mt. Rushmore of NFL tight ends, he’s on it,” the Raiders GM said on a conference call Tuesday. “I know he’s 37 years old, and I know we have a pretty good tight end room, but when you talk about bringing in a guy like him, not only can he still play — he had over 60 catches but blocked the backside — he’s still a competitive football player. But on top of that, he brings this wealth of knowledge about how to be a professional.”

Mayock furthered that he sees Witten becoming a foundation player for the Raiders, one who helps set a positive locker room and culture. The Las Vegas boss also called him the “quintessential culture guy” who has the voice to tell other players what to do and what not to do.

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“More importantly, the tight end room, you get a guy like Foster [Moreau] coming off the ACL, hopefully he’s going to be 100 percent Day One, but if he’s not, we’ve got a conventional Y that can play. Plus, we’ve got a guy in that tight end room that I think is going to help the young guys, and I’m talking about all of them,” Mayock added. “We just thought it was too good of an opportunity both for our locker room and for our tight end room, and by the way, the guy can still play a little bit.”

Jason Witten has been in a decline in the past few years, but he remains a solid tight end who can produce when it matters. In 2019 for the Cowboys — where he spent the past 17 years of his career — the 37-year-old started in all 16 games he played in and registered 529 receiving yards through 63 receptions. The respected veteran also made four touchdowns.