Jason Witten Christopher Jason Witten ( born May 6 , 1982 ) is an American football tight end who plays for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Tennessee , and was drafted by the Cowboys in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft . He holds the Cowboys franchise record for career receptions . Early years . Witten attended Elizabethton High School in Elizabethton , Tennessee . Domestic violence from his parents led him to live with his grandparents . His grandfather was also the coach of the football team , where he was a two - way player , playing linebacker and tight end . He became a four year starter and helped his team reach the state semifinals three times . As a senior linebacker , he finished the season with 163 tackles ( registering a career school record 450 ) , 9 sacks , 2 interceptions , 5 forced fumbles , 3 fumble recoveries and 2 blocked kicks . That year he received several accolades : All - America selection , All - State selection ( also as a junior ) , USA Today Player of the Year for Tennessee , East Tennessee Player of the Year , Region Defensive Player of the Year and runner - up for the Mr . Football award . He also played basketball , where he averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per - game . College career . Witten accepted a scholarship to the University of Tennessee , where he played for the Tennessee Volunteers football team . He was first tried at defensive end , before being moved to tight end to improve the position ' s depth . He received his first starts ( 3 ) as a sophomore , before having a break out year as a junior and setting school records for a tight end in receptions ( 39 ) and receiving yards ( 493 ) with five touchdown s . He was also an All - Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) selection and received Academic All - SEC honors after leading the conference ' s tight end s in receptions and receiving yards . Although he decided to enter the NFL draft after his junior season , he left third all - time among the school ' s tight end s with 68 career receptions and fourth all - time with 797 receiving yards . Professional career . 2003 . In 2003 , he was drafted 69th overall in the 3rd round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys . In a limited role during the season in which he started only seven of the fifteen games he played , Witten had 35 receptions for 347 receiving yards with only one touchdown reception . 2004 . In 2004 , Witten had 87 catches , eleventh most in history by a tight end and a Cowboys team record for the position , and was selected to his first Pro Bowl , becoming a part of the Cowboys franchise ' s legacy of great tight end s that includes : Jim Doran , Lee Folkins , Pettis Norman , Mike Ditka , Billy Joe DuPree , Jackie Smith , Doug Cosbie and Jay Novacek . 2005 . Witten was named to his second Pro Bowl for his performance in the 2005 season . 2006 . At the end of the 2006 NFL season , Witten became just the tenth tight end in NFL history to post three consecutive seasons with at least 60 receptions . Witten was named to his third Pro Bowl for his performance in the 2006 season . On July 22 , 2006 Witten signed a six - year , $ 29 million contract extension through 2012 . The deal contains $ 12 million guaranteed , including a $ 6 million signing bonus and a $ 6 million option bonus in the second year . 2007 . Witten had a career year during the 2007 NFL season . He set the Cowboys single - season tight end record for receptions in a season with 96 , while also becoming only the third tight end in NFL history with 96 or more catches . On December 9 , 2007 , versus the Detroit Lions , Witten ' s 15 receptions tied an NFL record held by Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow Sr . , for most receptions in a game by a tight end in NFL history . In the 14th game of the year , Witten became the first Dallas tight end ever to gain over 1 , 000 receiving yards in a season . Witten was also one of the NFL - record 13 Cowboys players selected to the Pro Bowl . Additionally , he made the 2007 All - Pro team along with teammates Terrell Owens and DeMarcus Ware . In the Week 9 game on November 4 , while playing at Philadelphia , he made a 53 - yard reception after losing his helmet . Witten was nominated for the 2007 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award , which was won by Jason Taylor . 2008 . Witten made his 400th career reception in the Cowboys ' Thanksgiving Day game against the Seattle Seahawks on November 27 , 2008 . Witten was named a starter for the 2008 Pro Bowl . 2009 . Jason Witten had another Pro Bowl season , making 94 receptions for 1 , 030 yards , and 2 touchdowns . He was also given the NFL Iron Man award . 2010 . Witten banged his head on the turf after making a catch in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears . He was forced to miss the rest of the game with a concussion . In a Week 15 game against the Washington Redskins , Witten became the fastest tight end to make 600 receptions ( 125 games ) . He accomplished this with a 10 catch , 140 yard , 1 touchdown day at home . He received his 7th consecutive Pro Bowl selection when he was named as the starting tight end for the NFC . At the conclusion of the 2010 season , Witten was named tight end of the Year by the NFL Alumni Association . He hauled in 94 receptions for 1 , 002 yards and 9 touchdown s for the 2010 season . 2011 . Witten finished the season with 79 receptions for 942 receiving yards and 5 touchdown s playing in all 16 games . On November 13 , 2011 , Witten surpassed Ozzie Newsome as the tight end with the third most receptions in NFL history with 663 . 2012 . On August 13 , 2012 , Witten suffered a lacerated spleen in the preseason opener against the Oakland Raiders and missed the rest of the preseason . On September 5 , 2012 , Witten caught 2 passes for 10 yards in the season opening victory over the New York Giants . Witten ' s availability for the game was in question due to the spleen injury he suffered during the preseason , but he was active for the game after being medically cleared to play . On September 16 , 2012 against the Seattle Seahawks , Witten caught 4 passes for 58 yards . He finished the game with 702 career receptions to become just the second player in franchise history to reach 700 + catches ( Michael Irvin has 750 ) and the third tight end in NFL history to do so ( Tony Gonzalez and Shannon Sharpe are the other two ) . Witten became the fastest tight end to reach 700 catches , reaching the milestone in 145 games , Gonzalez took 154 games and Sharpe took 178 games . Witten also became the youngest wide receiver / tight end to reach 700 + catches with 30 years , 133 days . This record was later broken in Week 3 by Cardinals ' wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald who totaled 707 career catches with 29 years , 23 days . Furthermore , his 58 yard performance gave him 7 , 977 receiving yards for his career passing Jackie Smith for fourth all - time in receiving yards among tight end s . After week 3 , Witten passed former tight end Ozzie Newsome for third place all - time in receiving yards among tight end s . In week 8 , Witten caught a career - high 18 passes for a total of 167 yards . This is also a record for receptions by a tight end ; the previous record of 15 receptions was set by Kellen Winslow Sr . in 1984 . On November 4 , 2012 against the Atlanta Falcons , Witten set the Cowboys ' all - time receptions record of 754 , surpassing Michael Irvin ' s previous record of 750 . On December 23 , 2012 against the New Orleans Saints , Witten set the NFL single - season record for receptions by a tight end . Witten ' s 103rd catch of the season broke the previous record of 102 receptions , which had been set by Tony Gonzalez in 2004 . He extended the record to 110 in the season finale . On December 26 , 2012 he was selected to his 8th Pro Bowl . For the second time in his career , Witten was nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award , this time winning the award and the $ 25 , 000 donation to his charity . Personal life . Witten resides in Coppell , Texas , located in the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex , with his wife , Michelle , an emergency room nurse at Dallas ' Parkland Memorial Hospital , and their sons , C . J . and Cooper . He recently launched the Jason Witten SCORE Foundation , established in part to provide support and assistance for families and individuals affected by domestic violence . Witten appeared in an NFL / United Way public - service announcement ( PSA ) , stressing the importance of volunteering . The spot was filmed at Witten ' s annual free football camp in his hometown of Elizabethton , Tennessee , where more than 1 , 000 children attended in 2007 . Witten also appears in a video on I Am Second in which he talks about his Christian faith . Jason Witten and his wife added a little girl to their family in Oct . 2012 .