Christopher Jason Witten was born on May 6,1982 and is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 17 seasons, primarily for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.
74 Facts About Jason Witten
2.
Jason Witten currently is the head coach of the Liberty Christian School.
3.
Jason Witten played college football for the University of Tennessee, and was drafted by the Cowboys in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft.
4.
Jason Witten is widely regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time.
5.
Jason Witten then joined the Las Vegas Raiders for the 2020 season.
6.
Jason Witten afterward retired again but signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Cowboys.
7.
Jason Witten has one cousin, Triston Jason Witten, two older brothers, Ryan and Shawn who were raised in Washington DC, but attended Elizabethton High School in Elizabethton, Tennessee.
8.
When Jason Witten was 11, he moved to Elizabethton to live with his grandparents.
9.
Jason Witten's grandfather, Dave Rider, was the coach of the football team where Witten was a two-way player, playing linebacker and tight end.
10.
Jason Witten became a three-year starter playing both linebacker and tight end, while helping his team reach the state semi-finals three times.
11.
Jason Witten had 26 receptions and 14 touchdowns on offense.
12.
Jason Witten played basketball, where he averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per game.
13.
In 2000, Jason Witten accepted a scholarship to the University of Tennessee, with the promise from head coach Phillip Fulmer that he would be played at defensive end.
14.
Jason Witten began his first year playing special teams and saw time as a second-string defensive end.
15.
Jason Witten appeared in all 13 games as a sophomore, catching 28 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns.
16.
Jason Witten had 125 receiving yards and a touchdown in Tennessee's Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan.
17.
Jason Witten received All-SEC and Academic All-SEC honors after leading the conference's tight ends in receptions and receiving yards.
18.
Jason Witten was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Tight End Award.
19.
Jason Witten was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round with the 69th overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.
20.
Jason Witten was the fifth tight end selected that year.
21.
Jason Witten broke his jaw against the Arizona Cardinals, after being hit by Ronald McKinnon and Ray Thompson, which required surgery to have three plates inserted to help the healing.
22.
Jason Witten only missed one game and continued to play through the injury.
23.
Jason Witten was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team for the 2003 season.
24.
Jason Witten finished his rookie year with 35 receptions for 347 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.
25.
Jason Witten made his playoff debut in the Wild Card Round against the Carolina Panthers.
26.
Jason Witten had a breakout season in 2004, finishing with 87 receptions for 980 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.
27.
Jason Witten finished sixth in the NFL among tight ends with 66 receptions and became the first Cowboys tight end to have at least 65 receptions in consecutive seasons.
28.
Jason Witten registered 64 receptions for 754 yards and one touchdown, while being named to his third Pro Bowl in as many seasons.
29.
On July 22, Jason Witten signed a six-year, $29 million contract extension through 2012.
30.
Jason Witten had a career year in 2007, breaking his own single-season Cowboys tight end record for receptions with 96 and becoming the first franchise tight end to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
31.
Jason Witten became the third tight end in NFL history with 96 or more catches.
32.
Jason Witten was one of the NFL-record 13 Cowboys players selected to the Pro Bowl.
33.
Jason Witten was named as a First-team All-Pro for the 2007 season.
34.
Jason Witten made his 400th NFL reception in the Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13 as part of a nine-reception, 115-yard, one-touchdown performance.
35.
Jason Witten posted 81 receptions, which ranked 13th in the NFL for 2008,952 yards, four touchdowns, and was named a starter for the 2008 Pro Bowl.
36.
Jason Witten recorded his first 100-yard game of the 2009 season in Week 12 against the Oakland Raiders.
37.
Jason Witten banged his head on the turf after making a catch in a Week 2 loss against the Chicago Bears.
38.
Jason Witten was forced to miss the rest of the game with a concussion.
39.
Jason Witten accomplished this with a 10-catch, 140-yard, one-touchdown day at home.
40.
Jason Witten received his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl selection when he was named as the starting tight end for the NFC.
41.
Jason Witten was named as a First-team All-Pro for the second time in his career.
42.
Jason Witten was ranked No 36 by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011.
43.
Jason Witten started the 2011 season with consecutive 100-yard receiving games in a loss to the New York Jets and a victory over San Francisco 49ers.
44.
Jason Witten finished the season with 79 receptions for 942 receiving yards and five touchdowns playing in all 16 games.
45.
Jason Witten was ranked 75th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.
46.
Jason Witten finished the game with 702 career receptions to become just the second player in franchise history to reach 700 catches and the third tight end in NFL history to do so.
47.
Jason Witten became the fastest tight end to reach 700 catches, reaching the milestone in 145 games.
48.
On December 23, in Week 16 against the New Orleans Saints, Jason Witten set the NFL single-season record for receptions by a tight end, breaking the previous record of 102 receptions, which had been set by Tony Gonzalez in 2004.
49.
Jason Witten extended the record to 110 in the season finale.
50.
Jason Witten was ranked 41st among his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.
51.
In Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jason Witten surpassed Shannon Sharpe with the second most receptions as a tight end in NFL history.
52.
Jason Witten finished the 2013 season with starts in all 16 games.
53.
Jason Witten recorded 73 receptions for 851 yards and eight touchdowns.
54.
Jason Witten was named to the Pro Bowl for the ninth time in his career.
55.
Jason Witten was ranked 98th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014.
56.
Jason Witten became the all-time leader for consecutive starts by a tight end after he started against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6.
57.
In Week 7, Jason Witten had 27 yards against the New York Giants to move his career receiving yards to 10,065 to pass Shannon Sharpe for the second-most receiving yards by an NFL tight end.
58.
In Week 16, Jason Witten sprained his knee against the Indianapolis Colts but was still able to play in the season finale against the Washington Redskins.
59.
Jason Witten finished with 60 receptions for 654 yards and five touchdowns.
60.
Jason Witten was named to his tenth career Pro Bowl for his 2014 season.
61.
Jason Witten was ranked 93rd by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.
62.
In Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jason Witten suffered a right knee injury and two sprained ankles but was able to only miss a play and a half.
63.
Two weeks later, in a Monday Night Football game against the Washington Redskins, Jason Witten became the 12th player and second tight end in NFL history to reach 1,000 receptions.
64.
Jason Witten started all 16 games and led the Cowboys with 77 receptions for 713 yards and three touchdowns.
65.
Jason Witten finished the season 16 receiving yards shy of Michael Irvin's all-time franchise record.
66.
On March 28,2017, Jason Witten signed a four-year contract extension with the Cowboys through the 2021 season.
67.
Jason Witten started all 16 games and finished the season with 63 receptions for 560 yards and five touchdowns, on his way to his 11th Pro Bowl, which tied a Cowboys record with Bob Lilly.
68.
On March 25,2020, Jason Witten signed a one-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.
69.
Jason Witten was fined by the NFL on October 5,2020, for attending a maskless charity event hosted by teammate Darren Waller during the COVID-19 pandemic in violation of the NFL's COVID-19 protocols for the 2020 season.
70.
On January 27,2021, Jason Witten announced his retirement from the NFL and stated his intention to sign a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Cowboys.
71.
On February 1,2022, Jason Witten was named the head coach of the Liberty Christian School.
72.
Jason Witten is a Christian, and appears in a video on I Am Second in which he talks about his faith.
73.
Jason Witten wrote an opinion piece for ESPN, titled "How Twitter has become NFL locker room poison" in which he detailed the potential negative impact social media can have, particularly on younger players, from his personal experiences.
74.
In 2021 and just days after his retirement from the NFL, Jason Witten spurned the overtures of several NFL and college teams to coach and was named the head football coach at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas.