Fox wants another Dallas Cowboys star for the announce booth - report
Cowboys tight end Jason Witten might soon follow in the footsteps of his former quarterback and close friend, Tony Romo.
Romo, of course, was wooed into retirement last offseason by an offer to be the lead analyst on CBS’ NFL broadcasts alongside play-by-play man Jim Nantz.
Now, according to a report, Fox Sports is pursuing Witten to be the analyst for its new “Thursday Night Football” package.
“Executives from Fox are intrigued by the possibility the popular, square-jawed Witten could replicate the rookie TV success of Romo, his close friend and former road roommate,” writes Michael McCarthy in Sporting News. “He’d have the advantage, like Romo and [Troy] Aikman, of broadcasting to a built-in, national fan base that loves the Cowboys.”
There’s one big problem: Witten is still under contract with the Cowboys.
The tight end, who will be 36 in May, signed a four-year extension last March.
Not only that, he’s still playing at a high level and has expressed no desire to call it quits.
Last season, Witten had 63 catches for 560 yards and five touchdowns and was named to his 11th Pro Bowl.
“I’m as motivated now as I’ve ever been to play this position at a high level and help my team in all situations as a leader, as a veteran, but most importantly as a tight end and what that position consists of in this offense,” Witten told the Dallas Morning News after the season ended.
“With that, we got to get back to work, evaluate it, strip it down to the most simple form,” he said.
Jason Witten isn’t walking off the field until he cannot walk on the field.
— Cowboys Nation (@CowboysNation) March 12, 2018
Despite the veteran’s solid production, the Cowboys fell from 13-3 in 2016 to 9-7 in 2017 and missed the playoffs.
Witten’s representatives and Fox declined to comment on the Sporting News report.
Fox is also reportedly pursuing Peyton Manning to be the “TNF” analyst — and it might willing to pay up to $10 million per year to get him.
It appears that Witten is Fox’s Plan B, but it might need a Plan C because Witten doesn’t sound like a guy who’s ready to hang ’em up.
Jason Witten: Oh, I’m coming back. I love playing this game too much and I know I can play at a high level.
— Kate Hairopoulos (@khairopoulos) December 31, 2017
Witten has made the Pro Bowl 11 times in his 15-year career.
He’s the Cowboys’ all-time leader in receptions (1,152) and receiving yards (12,448).
If Witten were to be wooed into the broadcast booth, he would become the latest in a long line of Cowboys who have gone on to successful broadcasting careers.
That list includes Don Meredith, who entertained viewers of “Monday Night Football” from 1970 to 1984; Aikman, the current lead analyst at Fox; Daryl Johnson, a color analyst for Fox; Michael Irvin, an analyst at NFL Network; Deion Sanders, an analyst at CBS and the NFL Network; and Romo, among others.
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