Witten: 'It sucked' to hear MNF criticisms

Jason Witten's one season in the booth for ESPN's "Monday Night Football" was not well received.

His rookie year as an analyst was dotted with numerous faux pas and made for bad reviews from the viewing public.

Witten said the criticisms didn't fall on deaf ears, but they also didn't contribute to his decision to return to the field.

"Certainly, I took a beating. I'm aware of it," Witten said on the "Dual Threat" podcast with Ryen Russillo, according to Andrew Joseph of USA TODAY. "To say you didn't pay attention to it, bullshit. ... I wasn't immune to it. It sucked going through it at times."

He added: "I didn’t make this decision off of the noise or the criticism. It was really just, 'I want to play.' The scoreboard matters and I want to be a part of that."

Witten said the toughest part was reading messages of condolence from loved ones after a broadcast.

"I would check my texts and it was like they found out I was sick or something or somebody died in my family," he said. "'Praying for ya.' 'Keep your head up.' I'm like, my gosh, it wasn't that bad. I said, 'pulled a rabbit out of his head' instead of 'rabbit out of his hat.' You guys knew what I meant, right? I screwed up. But it wasn't the end of the world in my opinion."

The All-Pro tight end will surely feel more at home when he returns to the field with the Dallas Cowboys for his 16th season.