IT’S OFFICIAL: WITTEN LEAVES FOR MNF
Dallas star will be analyst on Monday Night Football
Longtime Dallas Cowboy will become the lead analyst for Monday Night Football, but feels he let down owner Jerry Jones for not winning a Super Bowl.
FRISCO, Texas — Jason Witten mostly held it together while announcing he was retiring after 15 years with the Dallas Cowboys to go into TV.
One wavering moment came when the tight end turned to owner Jerry Jones on a stage in front of his family, teammates and club employees in what normally serves as the dining room in the team’s practice facility.
“The hardest part of this decision was knowing that I would never be able to hand you that Lombardi Trophy,” Witten said during his 15-minute speech Thursday. “I told you back in 2006 that I would not let you down. I hope that in your eyes, I held up my end of the bargain.”
Just days away from turning 36, Witten is leaving to be the analyst for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” telecast, a move the network confirmed after Witten’s retirement announcement.
The decision by the franchise leader in games, catches and yards receiving is the same one longtime teammate Tony Romo, the club passing leader in yards and TDs, made last year with CBS.
“Jason has given so much to this team, to this franchise. He emptied the bucket here,” Jones said, responding to a question about that missing Super Bowl after speeches by all three on stage: Witten, Jones and coach Jason Garrett.
“When I look at where we were with the great legacy of our fans that have had 56 years of being around some of the greatest people and names of players ever … to me, no one has ever given more of himself and no one has ever made any bigger impact.”
Witten is third on the Cowboys’ list with 68 touchdown catches.
“There’s an old saying in pro football, the circus doesn’t stay in town forever,” Witten said. REDSKINS: The team says it is concerned by allegations made by cheerleaders in a New York Times article about a trip to Costa Rica for a photo shoot in 2013.
Team president Bruce Allen said in a statement Thursday the organization is immediately looking into the situation. Allen says if the investigation shows any employees acted inappropriately, “those employees will face significant repercussions.”
The New York Times reported the cheerleaders had their passports collected, were forced to be topless for a calendar photo shoot that included male spectators and were asked to be escorts for sponsors at a nightclub. The story quoted cheerleaders on condition of anonymity because they signed confidentiality agreements.
EAGLES: Philadelphia exercised a fifth-year option on coach Doug Pederson’s contract to keep him signed with the Eagles through 2020, the NFL Network reported.
When Pederson was hired in 2016, it was reported as a five-year contract. As it turned out, the fifth year of that deal was a team option. After winning the Super Bowl, the Eagles picked up that option — so it’s now officially a five-year deal.
BRONCOS: Denver declined to exercise outside linebacker Shane Ray’s $9.23 million fifth-year option for 2019 on Thursday, a week after selecting North Carolina State pass rusher Bradley Chubb in the NFL draft.
Ray, the team’s top pick in 2015, promised a big bounce-back season after the Broncos selected Chubb with the fifth overall draft pick, something he’ll need if he’s going to cash in as an unrestricted free agent next March.
FALCONS: Quarterback Matt Ryan became the league’s highest-paid player Thursday by agreeing to a five-year contract extension that could be worth as much as $150 million.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirmed that Ryan is assured of receiving at least $100 million. That surpasses the total compensation of the $84 million, three-year guaranteed deal that quarterback Kirk Cousins received from the Minnesota Vikings.
JETS: Backup quarterback Bryce Petty was released on Thursday, according to multiple sources.