What does Witten’s retirement mean for the Eagles and the rest of the NFC East?

After 15 seasons in the NFL, Jason Witten has decided to call it quits.

The situation for the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East just keeps on looking better. Here’s a quick review of what went down the last couple of weeks leading up to Friday morning. The Dallas Cowboys decided to release Dez Bryant with a little-to-no warning last minute. The New York Giants chose to draft a shiny new running back based off of want, rather than a stable quarterback, which they need for the future.

Then the Washington Redskins went into a panic on draft night when their dream selection, Vita Vea was chosen right before their turn. So instead they selected the next best player with Da’Ron Payne. But the NFC East news did not stop there on the first round of the draft night. After the Cowboys avoided taking a first-round weapon, which they are desperately in need of, their longtime veteran Jason Witten has decided to call it quits.

Once again, a Dallas Cowboys’ legend will leave the team on short notice to start a broadcasting career. Witten’s retirement is not one-hundred percent confirmed as of now. But he has pretty much made up his mind according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

Witten calls it quits:

Although Witten played for the Cowboys, the 15-year veteran has gained an outstanding amount of respect amongst his NFC East peers. He may not have dominated over the last couple of years as he has in the past, but the Cowboys will surely miss him during the 2018 season. Witten’s retirement could add to the internal damage within the Cowboys organization.

Without warning, Witten decided it was time to end his career right in the middle of the NFL Draft. The news to Jerry Jones and the Cowboys could realistically make a significant last-minute change in their draft strategy. And not only does this affect the plans for the draft, but it could affect some leadership roles within the Cowboys locker room.

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As we all know, Witten has been a captain of the Cowboys for quite some time now. Without him, they are missing yet, another leader on and off the field. Production wise, the move shouldn’t hurt the Cowboys tremendously. But leadership wise, they could be in a world of hurt. We have all heard that Dak Prescott has led the Cowboys offense well in year one, but year two looked like somewhat of disaster when things went south. We’re not saying it’s the end of the world for the Cowboys. But the loss of Witten will be much more significant than you think.