Dallas Cowboys Star Jason Witten Snubbed By NFL Pro Bowl
Dallas Cowboys star tight end Jason Witten has been snubbed for the Pro Bowl game this season, according to NFL.com, which published the official selections on Tuesday afternoon.
The National Football League announced that Greg Olsen, Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, and Tyler Eifert will be playing in the annual game in Honolulu, Hawaii, after the season ends.
Despite quietly having an excellent season, Witten did not receive enough votes from fans, players, and coaches, so he will be taking his end of season vacation in another destination.
In 14 games so far this year, Jason has 70 receptions, 32 of which led to first downs for the Cowboys. His 643 yards have helped a lackluster offense be a little more respectable.
Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider that Tony Romo missed most of the season with two separate collarbone injuries. Romo and Witten play well together.
Instead of Tony, Jason had to play with Matt Cassel and Brandon Weeden, neither of whom are expected to be back in Dallas next year because they did not live up to expectations.
Only three tight ends in the NFL has more catches than Jason Witten. Delanie Walker (76), Jordan Reed (74), and Greg Olsen (71) have more, but Witten still can catch up to them.
Only seven NFL tight ends have more yards thus far this season than Jason Witten. Not to pick on Eifert too much, but Witten has 79 more yards than his Bengals counterpart.
An aspect that hurts Jason is the fact that he only has two touchdowns for the season, and both of those took place during the opening game of the season for the Dallas Cowboys.
Much of the reason for that is because of Cassel and Weeden not being able to get the Cowboys into scoring position. It also doesn’t help that Dez Bryant wasn’t on the field as well.
Since 2004, Jason Witten has been selected to the Pro Bowl every year except for 2011, where he tallied 79 receptions, 942 yards, and five touchdowns. That was considered a snub.
Even at 33 years of age and 205 games played, Witten isn’t expected to slow down any time soon, Aside from being one of the toughest players in NFL history, he takes care of himself.
Jason will be in the hunt for another Pro Bowl selection in 2016. His chances would increase tremendously if Romo and Bryant are healthy, and a running back upgrade can be found.
Gavin Escobar was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. While he has shown some potential, he has yet been able to challenge Witten for snaps.
James Hanna was drafted in 2012 from the Oklahoma Sooners. The 26-year-old local star is a solid catcher and willing blocker but looks to be more of a role player and not a starter.
In 2009, the Cowboys drafted John Phillips from the Virginia Cavaliers. While he was starting to come up before an ACL injury, he seemed more like a blocking tight end.
Martellus Bennett did finally blossom into a Pro Bowl tight end. Unfortunately for Dallas, the selection came while the former Texas A&M star was playing for the Chicago Bears.
Jason Witten is not easy to replace, both with the Dallas Cowboys and the Pro Bowl.
[Featured Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images]
