Darren Waller is not the only tight end of the Las Vegas Raiders who is set to break an impressive record on Sunday when he finished the season at the Denver Broncos.
Waller’s reserve Jason Witten is about to set an NFL record for games played by a tight end in 271, breaking the Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez record. Witten, 38, in his first NFL season and his 17th in the NFL, with the previous 16 years being played by the Dallas Cowboys. Witten did not play in 2018 when he took over as Raiders coach Jon Gruden as an analyst for “Monday Night Football”.
Wednesday, Gruden indicated that Witten is likely to retire after this season. But Witten said later that he will stop to think about his future.
Witten reflected on his longevity while he is about to make history. He said that when he was drafted by Bill Parcells in 2003, the coach had a message.
“Coach Parcells taught me about reliability, reliability and consistency,” said Witten. “Those are the characteristics I tried to maintain.“
Gruden said he thinks Witten could be a great coach someday and even compared him to Hall of Fame members Tom Landry and Bill Cowher. Witten said he thinks he would like to work as a coach at some point.
For now, however, the focus is on Game No. 271.