For the second straight year, it looks like a prominent Cowboys player will hang up his spikes and head into the broadcast booth. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports Dallas tight end Jason Witten plans to reitre so he can join “Monday Night Football.” The 11-time Pro Bowler reportedly will meet Friday with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones before finalizing his decision.
Last year, of course, Tony Romo went to CBS and enjoyed lots of acclaom for his rookie announcing performance. It’s possible Romo’s smooth transition influenced Witten’s thinking.
Though Witten recently signed a four-year contract, Mortensen’s sources say he’s been in talks with ESPN for several weeks. The WorldWide Leader is in the process of remaking its Monday night booth, replacing Sean McDonough with Joe Tessitore. Jon Gruden left to coach the Raiders for $10 million per year.
Mortensen’s tweet says Witten will be MNF’s “lead analyst,” inferring he will take part in a three-man booth. Then again, Mortensen has run into some trouble with Twitter in recent years.