off the field and then watching him trying to take his game to another level, I’ve enjoyed that,” McDermott said. “We are excite

FRISCO http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/darius-slayton-jersey , Texas (AP) — Jason Witten talks a lot about just wanting to blend in now that he’s back for a club-record 16th season with the Dallas Cowboys following a year in retirement.Ask about playing time among a group of decidedly younger tight ends, and, well, the franchise leader in catches and yards receiving doesn’t seem quite sure what to say.In other words, an 11-time Pro Bowler many consider an easy choice for the Pro Football Hall of Fame whenever he retires for good just isn’t comfortable accepting the idea of fewer snaps when he took almost all of them for 15 years.“Those coaches work long hours; they’re smart,” Witten said a week before getting all the first-team reps in the only offseason practice reporters saw in which he participated. “I think that I can’t worry about how that plays out. My job is to kind of make it tough on them. We all benefit if that’s the case.”Witten is back after just a year as lead analyst on “Monday Night Football” because he missed playing and thought the Cowboys looked like future contenders for a Super Bowl — something he could never deliver — despite a divisional playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams last January.The 37-year-old is also back because, unlike best friend and former Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, the Cowboys hadn’t replaced him. Dak Prescott sent Romo into retirement/broadcasting with a debut worthy of the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award after the 10-year starter got hurt in 2016.The only experienced tight end trying to replace Witten last season — 2015 seventh-round pick Geoff Swaim — is in Jacksonville now after another injury-plagued year.Blake Jarwin, an undrafted pass catcher lacking Witten’s blocking ability, had the biggest impact by tying the club record for tight ends with three touchdown catches in a game , but not until a meaningless regular-season finale.And then there’s Dalton Schultz, drafted in the fourth round about a week before Witten announced his sudden retirement last year . He went from thinking he’d have a year to learn from one of the best Quinnen Williams Jersey , to not, to Witten leading the tight end room — and probably taking a lot of the snaps.“I was saying this when I got drafted last year, he’s only going to be good for this organization, no matter what,” Schultz said. “He was my idol growing up, which is weird. Don’t tell him I said that. Just to have a guy that you literally grew up watching, trying to emulate in your room, is pretty cool.”Witten didn’t get his old locker back, or his parking space at the practice facility. He appeared in the locker room only once in the three days it was open to reporters during offseason workouts. The team’s mandatory minicamp starts Tuesday.But his presence on the field was unmistakable, even on the days he didn’t participate in drills. During simple footwork sessions, Witten worked alongside tight ends coach Doug Nussmeier, another who joined the Cowboys last year only to discover Witten wouldn’t be there.“There’s nothing he hasn’t seen http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/jachai-polite-jersey ,” Jarwin said. “It’s always incredible just trying to get some input from him. Even the small stuff and what he sees and when we do things right and when we do things wrong, he’s always there to help us along. It’s been great so far.”With Witten, the Cowboys have one of two tight ends in NFL history with at least 1,000 catches and 10,000 yards. The other, Tony Gonzalez, will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in August after being voted in on his first try.A third-round draft pick by Dallas in 2003, Witten figures to build on the club records of 1,152 catches and 12,448 yards. The 16th season will break a tie with defensive end Ed “Too Tall” Jones, safety Bill Bates and late offensive lineman Mark Tuinei for the most among Cowboys.While Witten never has been a prolific scorer, he needs six receiving touchdowns to break Dez Bryant’s team record of 73. Of course Chuma Edoga Jersey , numbers have nothing to do with why he came back.For that answer, look to Prescott and even younger backfield mate Ezekiel Elliott, already a two-time NFL rushing champion. Or a defense led by passing rushing star DeMarcus Lawrence and promising young linebackers Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch.The Cowboys have the pieces, and now Witten is another. Anything less than the franchise’s first trip to the NFC championship game since the last of its five Super Bowl titles during the 1995 season will be a disappointment.“I kind of like that the back’s against the wall for the whole football team, the whole organization,” Witten said. “I want those guys to know that I’m just a part of that. I want to be a part of it. It’s as simple as that. I didn’t overthink it. The fire was too strong.” ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — After adding a haul of players from other teams in free agency, the Buffalo Bills are rewarding one of their own.The Bills signed top pass rusher Jerry Hughes to a two-year contract extension Tuesday that will keep the defensive end in Buffalo through 2021. Hughes’ contract was set to expire after the upcoming season.A person with direct knowledge of the contract told The Associated Press that Hughes will be guaranteed about $19 million, and could make as much as $23 million should he meet all the incentives. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Bills did not release the contract’s value.“It feels good to have an organization, an owner, a GM and a head coach that really believes in you and is really excited for me to be back here in this building with the team,” Hughes said.Hughes http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/trevon-wesco-jersey , 30, has come a long way in his time in Buffalo, going from discarded afterthought to premier pass rusher.After being chosen 31st overall by the Indianapolis Colts in 2010, Hughes’ first three years in the league with Indianapolis were a disappointment. He was traded to Buffalo in April 2013 for linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and immediately broke out in Buffalo, posting back-to-back 10-sack seasons.Though Hughes has yet to match those sack totals over the past four seasons, he’s been a consistent and dominant presence off the edge for Buffalo, drawing double teams and harassing opposing quarterbacks.“Watching him develop off the field and then watching him trying to take his game to another level, I’ve enjoyed that,” McDermott said. “We are excited about it.”With the Bills, Hughes has 42 sacks and 280 tackles from 2013-18. He has 47 sacks in his career.“It’s awesome. Jerry’s one of the best guys in the locker room,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “He’s a leader for us. The intensity that he brings every day is through the roof. so I’m glad he got a deal done, glad we got him for a couple more years locked down. I think everybody in the locker room will say the same thing.”NOTES: For the first time in 42 years Alexander Mattison Jersey , the Bills have a player wearing O.J. Simpson’s former No. 32. Running back Senorise Perry wore the jersey number at Buffalo’s spring practices this week. Simpson, whose name remains on the Bills Wall of Fame, served nine years for armed robbery and assault after confronting two sports collectibles dealers at a Las Vegas casino hotel in September 2007. The Pro Football Hall of Famer was acquitted of two counts of murder in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman, but a civil court jury found him liable for wrongful death and ordered him to pay $33.5 million. … Former Bills center Eric Wood was hired as the team’s new radio analyst. He replaces former Bills safety Mark Kelso. Wood, a first-round pick of the Bills in 2009, spent nine years with the team before he was forced to retire due to a neck injury. “I’m excited to be back in Buffalo a whole lot more, excited to be affiliated with the team again,” Wood said. “I’m really excited for the challenge that this is going to present to try and pursue something else and try and be great at something else.”