FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten paid tribute to Tony Romo, turning to Twitter to praise his long-time teammate and best friend.
Romo walked away from football Tuesday, choosing to become the lead NFL analyst at CBS.
Witten recalled meeting Romo for the first time on a shuttle bus for the Cowboys' first rookie minicamp in 2003.
"Knowing what I know now, I must say there is no one -- and I mean no one -- I would rather have had next to me on this journey other than Tony Romo," Witten wrote.
14 Years pic.twitter.com/ynMbL0HxEF
— Jason Witten (@JasonWitten) April 8, 2017
Romo responded on Twitter later Saturday evening, saying he'd miss Witten the most.
You made football a lot easier for me because of your greatness...but you also made my life better by being in it. Gonna miss u the most 82 https://t.co/MHyW171d53
— Tony Romo (@tonyromo) April 8, 2017
For 14 years, they were teammates and among the best quarterback-tight end duos in the NFL. They were the longest-tenured teammates in the NFL and, only Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker had been together longer in the four major sports.
Not to be left out, former Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, now with the Titans, also expressed his appreciation for Romo on Saturday.
The most competitive player I've ever played with.Happy to have played & learned from you.But more than happy to call you a friend. Congrats https://t.co/S0njjLmL3b
— DeMarco Murray (@DeMarcoMurray) April 8, 2017
During the years, Witten and Romo became closer as they each got married and raised families. They have regularly gone on vacations together. Witten has offered up wisdom to Romo's sons, Hawkins and Rivers.
On the field, Romo and Witten connected for 649 passes, 7,287 yards and 37 touchdown passes. Of all the Cowboys who caught passes from Romo, nobody had more catches or yards than Witten, and only Dez Bryant had more touchdowns (50).
"Ultimately, he became a player who would set the highest standard for himself because he knew it would create higher expectations for all of those around him. Players had to play better and coaches had to coach better," Witten wrote.
