Jason Witten’s time as a Hall of Famer will have to wait. For Darren Woodson, his wait must continue.
Neither the Cowboys’ all-time leading receiver, or the team’s all-time leading tackler were selected for the latest class for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The news was announced Thursday night at the NFL Honors show. Witten and Woodson were not included in the five-person class, that featured first-ballot inductees Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald.
The rest of the 2026 Hall of Fame class included Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri and Roger Craig.
Woodson has now been this close to the doorstep of the Hall of Fame four years in a row. But while he was left off once again, Woodson said his stats speak for itself.
“You can look back and look at what I did,” Witten said. “I’m not going to campaign and do these little things to bring attention to me. I’ve never been that way and I’m not going to do that. So when it doesn’t happen … I’ve been built all my entire life that the birds are going to chirp the next day and I’m going to run my businesses the next day. Life is going to go on. Do I want it? Yeah, of course, but it’s not going to break me.”
Witten was denied induction as a first-ballot, something that has become much more difficult over the years. As the Cowboys’ leader in catches, receiving yards and games played, his time in Canton will undoubtedly occur over the next few years, if not next year. For reference, Witten’s career numbers are similar to Antonio Gates, who was inducted in 2025 in his second attempt.
Witten’s former coach, Jason Garrett, said this week during the Super Bowl festivities that no other player should be more deserving than Witten to go in for the first time.
“I think he’s a slam dunk first-ballot Hall of Famer,” said Garrett, who was on the Cowboys’ staff from 2007-19, including nine seasons as head coach. “What is he … fourth all-time in receptions in the National Football League? I think those are Hall of Fame credentials … certainly an elite player at his position throughout in the NFL and one of the all-time greats.”
Witten ranks fourth in the NFL history in catches with 1,228 among all players and second among tight ends. His 13,046 receiving yards also ranks seconds among tight ends, only behind Tony Gonzalez.
So the wait for No. 82 shouldn’t be too long. But it’s a different story for No. 28. Woodson has now been a finalist for the last four years and hasn’t been inducted. And now, he’s got only two years remaining as a modern-era finalist, which is qualified by being 25 years removed from retirement.
Woodson is the Cowboys’ all-time leader with 1,250 tackles and he made five Pro Bowls, serving as a defensive catalyst for three Super Bowl teams during his 12-year career. He’s the only player in Cowboys history to play for five different head coaches.
But Woodson isn’t bitter about missing out again. In fact, he always tries to shift the focus on the guys who did make it this year.
“Whoever does get in, they should be honored,” Woodson said. “It should be their day. It’s not the guys not going in. If you don’t get in, it sucks. But you still honor the guys who did make it. We should be celebrating those guys.”
And day soon, hopefully, Woodson and Witten will be those guys, too.
