Multiple reports have Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten joining ESPN. Also: CBS is reportedly adding Bruce Arians and extending Verne Lundquist; Joe Buck and Troy Aikman would not work a full Thursday Night Football schedule if they agree to take the job.
Witten Expected to Leave Cowboys For MNF
Dallas Cowboys TE
Jason Witten is expected to retire from the team and join ESPN as its lead
Monday Night Football analyst, ESPN and
The Dallas Morning News reported Friday. Witten would fill the vacancy left by
Jon Gruden, who left
MNF after nine years in January to become the Oakland Raiders head coach. It was not clear whether Witten would be the solo analyst or part of a three-man booth.
ESPN has engaged in a months-long search for Gruden’s replacement, pursuing in-house and outside candidates — most notably retired QB Peyton Manning. The network will have an entirely new MNF broadcast team next year, having announced in February that it will not retain Sean McDonough in the play-by-play role. The New York Post reported at the time that Joe Tessitore will replace McDonough, a move that has not yet been officially announced. [ESPN.com 4.27; Dallas Morning News 4.27]
Arians Reportedly Headed to CBS
Former Arizona Cardinals head coach
Bruce Arians will join CBS as an NFL analyst, The Athletic reported Friday. Arians is expected to join the broadcast team of
Greg Gumbel and
Trent Green. According to the report, Arians met with “multiple networks” since his January retirement. [The Athletic
4.27]
Lundquist Staying With CBS For Golf
CBS Sports broadcaster
Verne Lundquist told
The Athletic last week that he has reached a two-year extension with the network to cover The Masters and PGA Championship golf tournaments. Lundquist relinquished his role on CBS NCAA Tournament coverage this year and stepped away from the network’s SEC college football telecasts after 2016. [The Athletic
4.25]
Buck, Aikman, Would Not Work Full TNF Schedule
Fox Sports’ lead NFL broadcast team of
Joe Buck and
Troy Aikman would not work the full
Thursday Night Football package should they agree to add those duties to their existing Sunday schedule,
Sporting News reported last week. Instead, they would call select big games, with other Fox broadcasters picking up the slack. Per the report, both broadcasters are “well aware” of how balancing
TNF with existing Sunday duties “burned out” their colleagues at CBS and NBC.
As the New York Post reported previously, Fox is now eyeing Buck and Aikman for TNF after its first choice — Peyton Manning — turned them down. Aikman, per the Sporting News report, is seeking a substantial raise to add TNF to his workload. [Sporting News 4.24]
