Cowboys 'Blindsided' By Jason Witten MNF News
While there still apparently remains the chance that Jerry Jones talked Jason Witten out of retiring from the Cowboys to join ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast, the word coming out of Dallas is interesting with regards to their previous knowledge that Witten was planning to take the announcing job.
Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported:
Cowboys were not prepared for Jason Witten to retire. The irony is he blindsided them late in process like they did Dez Bryant. What will make you laugh will make you cry. He did what was best for him in terms of timing. It ain't personal its business.
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) April 27, 2018
And Stephen Jones said this on Dallas radio:
Stephen Jones tells @1053thefan that reports of @dallascowboys all-time receptions leader Jason Witten retiring to become NFL broadcaster is “news to us” but also that Jerry is getting set to meet with Witten. #DallasCowboys
— KristiCowboySideline (@KristiCowboy) April 27, 2018
So, as Hill said, the Cowboys just did this same sort of thing in reverse to Dez Bryant a few weeks ago, so it’s hard to feel too sorry for them. Beyond that, Witten has been reported as a possibility to do TV since mid-March. While it remains unclear exactly when ESPN made him an offer to join their MNF broadcast, the fact that he was in the mix was not or at least should not have been a total surprise to them.