Jon Kitna made the NFL as an undrafted free agent on the Seahawks in 1997. 15 seasons after being Warren Moon’s backup, Kitna is ready to retire at the age of 39.
Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News reports that Kitna has informed Cowboys officials that he’s ready to call it quits. His contract was up and he finished the season on injured reserve with a back injury.
That will conclude a solid three-year run as Tony Romo’s backup. Kitna actually played well enough last year in nine starts to briefly inspire some debate over Romo’s status as starter.
Kitna finished with 16 touchdowns, 12 picks, and 7.4 yards-per-attempt a year ago. He started 124 games total with the Seahawks, Bengals, Lions, and Cowboys, totaling 169 touchdowns with 165 interceptions. He won the AP Comeback Player of the Year award in 2003 with the Bengals.
Kitna was part of a few memorable moments in recent NFL history. He replaced Carson Palmer in the “Kimo Von Oelhoffen” playoff loss. He started the first four games of Detroit’s 0-16 season before getting hurt.
And so now we say goodbye to Kitna, after writing a retirement post that got longer than expected and has no natural conclusion.