Jason Witten explains why he gave Eagles' Zach Ertz the only jersey he ever gave away in 15 years

BarDown Staff

Zach Ertz , Twitter/JasonWitten

You don’t have to be a Dallas Cowboys fan to appreciate everything Jason Witten did over the course of his 15-year NFL career. The 36-year-old compiled 1,152 receptions, fourth-most in NFL history, for 12,448 receiving yards and 68 touchdowns, and was selected to the Pro Bowl 11 times.

Witten isn’t exactly the most active professional athlete on social media, but he still goes on and shows some of his personality from time to time. On Saturday, the 2012 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year came across a certain tweet from Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz in his mentions and replied to the 27-year-old with an awesome message.

In 15 years, I gave away my jersey after a game one time. Zach Ertz earned my respect- not only one of the best all-around at the position in our game, but handles his business the right way. The impact we have on others- it matters. Best of luck to you @ZERTZ_86 https://t.co/VwCFRz0Hg1
— Jason Witten (@JasonWitten) May 19, 2018

Shortly after Witten made his retirement official, Ertz shared a heartfelt message of his own on his social media accounts telling his followers how much Witten has meant to him and the game as a whole, and also included a photo of himself holding the one and only game jersey that Witten gave away during his career.

Congratulations and thank you, @JasonWitten! pic.twitter.com/mnX4EEKCuM
— Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) May 5, 2018

The Eagles and the Cowboys have one of the best rivalries in the NFL, but it’s awesome to see Ertz and Witten put all their differences aside and show some love when it matters.