Cowboys' Jason Witten retiring to join ESPN's 'Monday Night Football'

Michael McCarthy

Cowboys' Jason Witten retiring to join ESPN's 'Monday Night Football' image

Longtime Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is retiring from the NFL to move to TV, where he'll serve as color analyst for ESPN's "Monday Night Football."

Sporting News broke the news on March 12 that Witten was auditioning for TV jobs; the NFL veteran auditioned with both ESPN for "MNF" and Fox Sports for "Thursday Night Football."

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On Thursday morning's "Get Up," anchor Mike Greenberg made the Witten news official after weeks of speculation and negotiations between Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the team's all-time receptions leader.

"It is now official. Jason Witten is retiring from the Dallas Cowboys and coming to work with us," Greenberg said. "He will join ESPN as an analyst for 'Monday Night Football'."

Witten succeeds Jon Gruden, who left ESPN to return to NFL coaching with the Raiders.

Michael McCarthy

Michael McCarthy Photo

Michael McCarthy is an award-winning journalist who covers Sports Meda, Business and Marketing for Sporting News. McCarthy’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC.com, Newsday, USA TODAY and Adweek.