Tight end
Jason Witten – 1 year remaining on a 5-year, $37 million deal
James Hanna – 2 years remaining on a 3-year, $8.25 million deal
Geoff Swaim – 2 years remaining on a 4-year, $2.33 million deal
Rico Gathers – 3 years remaining on a 4-year, $2.44 million deal
Gavin Escobar – Unrestricted free agent
Evaluation: Jason Witten is the only tight end on the Cowboys roster that we should all feel comfortable about returning next season. Unfortunately, he is in the last year of his deal and I believe he will decide to retire once his contract expires.
Geoff Swaim and James Hanna will both be returning from injuries and to count on either of them to provide depth to the tight end position might be a little unwise. Both players are best suited as backups. It would be a huge downgrade if either one of them had to step in and start if something were to happen to Jason Witten.
The Cowboys do have Rico Gathers still, but he is likely still a developmental project and is definitely not ready to be the starting tight end.
This is another position the Dallas Cowboys will have to address during the off-season, likely in the draft. Fortunately, this is a deep tight end draft class.
