TE Jason Witten: Las Vegas Raiders
He was back, and then he was gone. Last year, Jason Witten interrupted his retirement to return to the Dallas Cowboys, where he padded his franchise-leading receptions and receiving yard totals. In 2019, he played in all 16 games (845 offensive snaps), and caught 63 passes for 529 yards and four TDs. It wasn’t much of a drop off from Witten’s production in the years leading up to his initial retirement, but he was still a roadblock for younger TEs like Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz.
Early this offseason, it somewhat awkwardly was revealed that Witten intended to continue playing, but Mike McCarthy was ready to turn the page. Witten will spend Year 17 in Las Vegas, landing with several familiar faces (Marinelli, Collins, Heath, Daniel Ross, Kyle Wilber, Rod Smith).
How Witten fits in with Las Vegas’s other two promising TEs, Darren Waller and Foster Moreau, remains to be seen. The Cowboys will turn the reigns over to Blake Jarwin after signing him to a three-year, $24.25 contract extension this offseason. How the depth chart shakes out behind him will be determined by a training camp battle involving Schultz, free agent signing Blake Bell, Cole Hikutini, and 2020 UDFAs Sean McKeon and Charlie Taumoepeau.
WR Randall Cobb: Houston Texans
Of all the players who figured to remain in Dallas under Mike McCarthy, Cobb instead somewhat curiously signed with the Texans. He’ll be tasked with helping offset the loss of DeAndre Hopkins in Houston with Brandin Cooks, Kenny Stills, and Will Fuller.
Cobb is coming off a solid season, in which he stayed mostly healthy and recorded his most receiving yards since 2016, benefitting from playing within the Cowboys’ strong passing game. He caught 55 of his 83 targets for 828 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He also returned four punts, two kicks, took three handoffs, and attempted the only other pass besides Dak Prescott for the Cowboys last year.
The loss of Cobb initially seemed like it could affect the Cowboys’ receiving corps, until they added WR CeeDee Lamb in the 2020 draft.
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