Getty Image / Ronald Martinez
Veteran NFL reporter Ed Werder who has covered the league and the Dallas Cowboys for the past 26 seasons for ESPN announced on Thursday that he would be taking some time off before looking for new work opportunities after ESPN declined to renew his contract.
The news came as a bit of a shock to the NFL world. Ed Werder has been a fixture of NFL broadcasts for over a quarter of a century and prior to the announcement there weren’t any rumblings that ESPN would be parting ways with one of their longest-tenured journalists.
Following the announcement from Ed Werder, other NFL media veterans chimed in to congratulate him on his successful career with ESPN:
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) May 23, 2024
Field Yates wrote “Helluva run, Ed. Best of luck on whatever is ahead and thanks for your friendship over all these years that will surely continue.” Jim Trotter replied “Can’t wait for the next chapter, Ed.” Jeff Darlington said “Thank you, Ed, for paving the way for so many of us in sports journalism. I know you’re not done — but it’s still worth celebrating a Hall of Fame run at ESPN! Congratulations!”
Meanwhile, legendary sportswriter Peter King who has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1992 didn’t hold back and ripped into ESPN for their decision to part ways with Ed Werder. Peter King shared this on X, formerly Twitter:
Hard to fathom ESPN marginalizing one of its best reporters. Unless, of course, you don't care about reporting.
Good luck to you, @WerderEdESPN https://t.co/3sUuyuD46G— Peter King (@peter_king) May 24, 2024
Not to say that it’s 100% true, but pretty much every reply to Peter King’s tweet agrees with his sentiment. Based on the comments, there seems to be a growing contingent of sports fans who believe ESPN’s focus has moved away from traditional sports journalism.