Darren Woodson and Jason Witten were two Dallas Cowboys named on this year's semifinalists list for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke on his weekly 105.3 The Fan show on Tuesday, and in between talking about his team's incredible comeback victory over the rival Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, he discussed the Hall of Fame candidacies of two franchise greats who were named on this week's 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class semifinalists list: Darren Woodson and Jason Witten.
Woodson is the Cowboys' all-time leading tackler as one of the sport's greatest defensive backs. In his 12 seasons in Dallas, he was instrumental in the team winning three Super Bowls in the hey-day 90s. He earned First Team All-Pro status from 1994-96 and was a Pro-Bowler from 1994-98 ... but for whatever reason, has been left on the HOF ballot for going on 18 years.
He has been a finalist (one of 15 candidates) during the voting in each of the last three years.
Last year when Woodson endured another miss from being voted into Canton, he spoke to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about his reaction to the devastating news.
"I got to deal with it. It is what it is. It sucks. I wish I could walk in and grab that gold jacket. It’s painful, it really is," he said.
“At my core, I’m more competitive than anyone else. It’s being patient, understanding that there are other people that are on that list who have had to be patient as well.”
"Darren Woodson, I'm shocked we're even having this discussion. He should've been in years ago. Really, candidly," Jones said Tuesday about "Woody". "I said 'Well, maybe safeties have a little bit ... and I know I sound condescending when I say it. That's a shame. Because what Darren meant to this team for years and years and years, what he meant to the NFL and how he represented the game is what the Hall of Fame is all about, as far as being included in it."
Woodson is now eligible alongside a more modern Cowboys icon in Witten, who is making his debut on the ballot this year.
Witten is the Cowboys' all-time leader receptions, receiving yards and games played. The always reliable tight end is tied for the team-lead all-time with 11 Pro Bowl selections.
"First of all, Jason, to me, is a first-ballot NFL player," Jones said. The Hall-of-Fame owner went on to share the iconic story of when Witten had a ruptured spleen and was questioning whether he would play in the upcoming game.
"I'll never forget, he had a cut spleen. His sack that holds the spleen wasn't cut ... And I was in the doctor's office with him and we were trying to see if he could get medical approval to play," Jones recalled.
"The doctor examined him thoroughly and looked over there and said 'Now there will be a few others playing with more serious injuries this weekend in the NFL. How bad do you want to play?' Shouldn't have asked him that. He said 'Well, I may never play another game. This could be it for me.' He said 'I want to play as though it were going to be the last game I ever played.' Doctor looked over at him and said 'You should play. I clear you.' And so he goes out there with an injury that by all textbooks he wasn't supposed to have been out there maybe for another three weeks or a month. That's Jason Witten."
The HOF committee will trim the semifinalist list down to 15 finalists before the NFL Honors show in February where the 2026 class is announced.