Longtime Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten will suit up for a different franchise for the first time in his (eventual) Hall of Fame career for the 2020 season, as Witten reportedly agreed to terms with the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday.
Former #Cowboys TE Jason Witten is signing with the #Raiders, per @VinnyBonsignore.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 17, 2020
Tight end is not exactly a position of need for the Raiders, who got a huge season from Darren Waller in 2019. The 27-year-old emerged as one of the team's breakout contributors and became a go-to guy for quarterback Derek Carr. Waller had the second-most receptions and yards at his position last season, trailing eventual Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce in both departments.
The Raiders also have Foster Moreau, Derek Carrier and Eric Tomlinson on the depth chart. Moreau is coming off a rookie campaign in which he recorded 21 catches but became a favorite red zone target, finding the end zone more times (5) than Waller (3).
Witten, 37, had 63 receptions and four touchdowns in 2019 — his 16th NFL campaign and first since returning the Monday Night Football booth. Besides that sabbatical, he's played less than 16 games just once during his career — in his rookie season (15). Witten is fourth on the NFL's all-time receptions list with 1,215 regular-season catches.
The Raiders have been relatively (and uncharacteristically) timid at the start of free agency. On Tuesday, the organization agreed to terms with former Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, who will presumably serve as backup — though possibly competition — to incumbent signal-caller Carr. Mike Mayock and co. followed that up by nabbing former Chicago Bears linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski on a three-year deal worth up to $24 million.
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