OXNARD, Calif. -- Jason Witten wouldn't let the questioner finish.
The lead-in was about everybody with the Dallas Cowboys stopping short of saying Super Bowl or championship out loud. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones wouldn't say Super Bowl at the state of the Cowboys news conference on Wednesday.
Witten was unafraid, stepping in before the actually question was asked.
"It's the championship, yeah," he said. "Winning the Super Bowl, right? There's 31 other teams that have the same goal, too. I'm not afraid to say it, but it's silly to talk about it. Everybody has the same expectations but it would be foolish for me being a 13-year veteran talking about playing in the Super Bowl. It's about building your team, being the best player you can be right now in camp, but I don't want to go as if we're just trying to make the playoffs. We know what our ultimate goal is.
"We just choose to focus on other teams that allow us to get there. But that's line one -- build your team to be able to compete for those situations to play in that game. If it's not, you need to leave now. It's pretty simple from that standpoint."
Witten has played in 10 Pro Bowls. He is the Cowboys' all-time leader in receptions. The only tight end with more catches than Witten in NFL history is Tony Gonzalez. At a time in which 13-year veterans think about the end of a career, Witten's focus is solely on a championship.
"I want to be the best. I want to be a part of a team that's about that," Witten said. "It really isn't about 55 more catches. It's about being part of a team that went after it and tried to be great. I love that process of doing it and doing it at a high level and when I can't it's time for me to get out of it. Only one way to play. I love doing it. I love starting this process with good guys who kind of approach it the same way and go after the same goals."