For the last 14 years, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and tight end Jason Witten have been teammates, close friends, and at one time, roommates. After Romo announced his retirement from the NFL, Witten took to Twitter and posted a touching tribute to Tony and their time together in the NFL. While Witten is remaining with Dallas, Romo will step away from the team and take a job as a color commentator with CBS Sports, calling their number one games every Sunday from the safety of the broadcast booth.
Tony Romo and Jason Witten in Dallas
The Dallas Cowboys drafted Jason Witten in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft.
He finally became the replacement that Dallas had been looking for since Jay Novacek retired in 1995 and has been the top tight end in Dallas for the last 14 years. More than that, Witten is the best receiver in Cowboys history, with more receptions and yards than names like Drew Pearson and Michael Irvin. That was almost all accomplished playing with Tony Romo, who also joined the Cowboys in 2003 as an undrafted free agent. While he didn't become a starting quarterback until 2006, he became instrumental to Witten ranking second all-time for tight ends for receptions and yards and ranking seventh for all NFL players in receptions. Witten and Romo were the longest-tenured teammates in the NFL and only Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have played together longer in the four major American sports.
Nobody caught more passes from Romo than Witten and he ranked first in yards and second in touchdowns (behind Dez Bryant).
Jason Witten's tribute to Tony Romo
Jason Witten was very humble and honest when writing his tribute to Tony Romo. Witten said that, after 14 years, he can say that there is no one that he would rather have worked alongside over his career than Romo.
The Dallas Cowboys teammates were roommates during much of their time in the NFL. When they got married, they became even closer and often their families take vacations together. Witten wrote that Romo became a player who would set high standards for himself because he knew that it would make everyone around him play at a higher level as well.
Witten said that Romo made players play harder and coaches coach better to keep up with him when it came to a desire to be great. Now that Romo is retired, Witten said fans will remember wins and losses, the record-setting fourth quarter comebacks, and the lack of playoffs. However, he will remember Tony Romo as a man who wrote his own history and is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
