Darren Waller is not the only tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders to set an impressive record on Sunday when they end the season with the Denver Broncos.
Waller’s backup Jason Witten is set to set an NFL record for games played at 271, which will break Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez’s record. Witten, 38, in his first season in the NFL and his 17th in the NFL with the 16 previous years played with the Dallas Cowboys. Witten did not play in 2018 as he took over the leadership of Raids coach Jon Gruden as an analyst on ‘Monday Night Football’.
On Wednesday, Gruden indicated Witten will likely retire after this season. But Witten later said he would take time to think about his future.
Witten did reflect on his long life while on the verge of making history. He said when he was drafted by Bill Parcells in 2003, the coach had a message.
“Coach Parcells taught me about reliability, trustworthiness and consistency,” Witten said. ‘These are the qualities I have been trying to maintain.”
Gruden said he thinks Witten could one day be a good coach and even compared him to Hall of Famers Tom Landry and Bill Cowher. Witten said he thinks he would like to do coaching at some point.
For now, however, the focus is on game no. 271.