FRISCO, Texas — Jason Witten wants to play another NFL season but acknowledged it might have to be with a franchise other than the Dallas Cowboys.
“I think I have to be,” Witten said when asked if he’s open to playing elsewhere. “Obviously, I’d love to finish it out here, but some of those things are not in your control.”
Witten said he met with Mike McCarthy not long after McCarthy was named Dallas’ head coach. He has had conversations with Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones.
While Witten said the talks with McCarthy and Jones were great, he added, “We didn’t get into the weeds of my role and what that would look like.”
He said he will have more discussions after next week’s scouting combine in Indianapolis but before free agency begins on March 18.
Witten caught 63 passes for 529 yards and four touchdowns this past season in his return from a one-year hiatus as an analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. He has played 16 seasons for the Cowboys, a franchise record.
“I still feel like I have something to give,” Witten said. “I’ve obviously been on the other side of that in the decision to retire. Yeah, I think coaching is in the future, but I want to play while I can. We’ll see where that takes place. Of course I want it to be with the Dallas Cowboys, and I’ll always be a Dallas Cowboy, but I also understand that with all the changes, that I might have to go somewhere else.”