NFL News: Jason Witten will retire after 17 seasons

On Wednesday, future Hall of Fame tight end Jason Witten told ESPN's Todd Archer that he will be retiring from football after 17 years in the NFL. The 38-year-old tight end spent 16 years with the Dallas Cowboys. He would play the 2020 NFL season with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Witten will sign a one-day contract with the Dallas Cowboys, which is seen a lot when a player spends their whole career with one team. Jason Witten's one-day contract is so that he can retire as a member of the Dallas Cowboys.

Witten retired after the 2017 season with the Cowboys. He would return to football a year later to rejoin the Dallas Cowboys in the 2019 NFL Season. This time when Jason Witten retires, it will be for good.

Let's take a look at the Hall of Fame career that Jason Witten put together as a member of the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders.

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Jason Witten's 17 years in the NFL

Dallas Cowboys would select tight end Jason Witten out of the University of Tennessee with their 69th pick in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Witten would start 15 of 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys in his rookie season. His rookie year was productive, with him bringing in 35 receptions for 347 yards and a touchdown.

Jason Witten is retiring after 17 years in the NFL, he told @toddarcher. He intends to sign a one-day contract and retire as a member of the Cowboys in March when his contract with the Raiders expires. pic.twitter.com/kaKMcVWLwV

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 27, 2021

Jason Witten busted onto the scene with the Dallas Cowboys in his second season. Witten would record 87 receptions for 980 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He would carry that success from his second season and put together 16 great seasons for the Dallas Cowboys.

Witten is currently second on the active receivers list for total receiving yards with 13,046 receiving yards, just behind Larry Fitzgerald. On a primarily wide receivers list, Jason Witten holds his spot being the only tight end in the top five.

Jason Witten will be remembered as the greatest tight end to wear a Dallas Cowboys uniform. He was Tony Romo's favorite target and the most reliable Dallas Cowboys receiver. Jason Witten would play each game with everything he had in his gas tank.

Jason Witten, forever a legend 💯(via @thecheckdown) pic.twitter.com/jxWBxWpY9B

— SportsDay Cowboys (@dmn_cowboys) January 27, 2021

Every play, whether the Cowboys were winning or losing, Witten would still give it 110%. Dallas Cowboys were everything to Jason Witten and for him to sign a one-day contract to retire as a Cowboy shows how much the team means to him.

He will be missed and will always be remembered for everything he gave the Dallas Cowboys for 16 amazing years.