Jason Witten is leaving "Monday Night Football" and returning to the Dallas Cowboys
Jason Witten, a Hall of Fame-bound tight end, has decided to leave the "Monday Night Football" booth after one season and return to the Dallas Cowboys for a 16th season of professional football. The Dallas Cowboys announced on its website Thursday that it agreed to a contract with Witten.
"The fire inside of me to compete and play this game is just burning too strong," Witten said in a statement, according to the Cowboy's website.
ESPN reports the contract is a one-year deal worth $3.5 million.
Witten now returns to the team he played on for his entire 15-year career, from 2003-2017. During that time he made 11 Pro Bowls and caught 1,152 receptions -- the fourth-most of all time and a record for the tight end position in pro football.
"I'm looking forward to getting back in the dirt," he said.
Last year, Witten served as color commentator in the broadcast booth for ESPN's "Monday Night Football." In his first outing as a broadcaster, Witten received mixed reviews, with Boston.com going so far as to call his rookie year on television "a big problem" and deeming Witten "the weakest link" of a broadcast trio that included Joe Tessitore and Anthony "Booger" McFarland. Sports Illustrated called last season's "Monday Night Football" crew "close to unwatchable."
Witten returns to a Cowboys team that went 10-6 last season, winning the NFC East Division and a playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks before falling in the Divisional Round to the Los Angeles Rams.