Jason Witten agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with the Cowboys, according to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, but only after the sides agreed to 25 snaps a game.
The tight end averaged 65.5 snaps per game in 2017 when he played 98.4 percent of the team’s offensive plays. But Witten turns 37 in May and has missed a year.
He knows he can’t play as many snaps as he previously did and also doesn’t want to be a “progress-stopper” for the team’s young tight ends, per Hill.
Witten could play a role similar to the one Antonio Gates did for the Chargers this season. Gates, 38, averaged 22.8 snaps per game in playing 36.6 percent of the plays.
Witten ranks fourth in NFL history in receptions with 1,152, behind only Jerry Rice, Tony Gonzalez and Larry Fitzgerald.