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Andy Reid tried to get Troy Aikman to come out of retirement and play for the Eagles

Troy Aikman was almost an Eagle.

James D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Can you imagine three-time Super Bowl winning Dallas Cowboys quarterback as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles? It almost happened. Here's an interesting story from Aikman that was recently published by the Dallas Morning News.

"It was 2003. We were in San Diego doing the game. We did a game break and said that Donovan McNabb had been injured. He had broken his leg. Then we got to halftime and my producer got into my ear and said, ‘Hey, I need you to call this number.’ He’s never done that. He’s never done it before and he’s never done it since. I said, ‘Well who is it?’ He said, ‘Well it’s Andy Reid.’ I said, ‘Oh man’. He said, ‘He says he wants you to call him at halftime.’ I said, ‘Well we’re doing a game.’ He said, ‘No, he wants you to call him.’

So I went outside. I had no cell service. I had to get out on the concourse there at Jack Murphy Stadium and I got him on the phone. He said, ‘Hey, did you hear what happened.’ I said, ‘Yeah, we did a game break.’ He said, ‘Well I want to talk to you about coming to Philadelphia.’ I said, ‘Andy, we’re in the middle of a broadcast. It’s halftime right now.’ He said, ‘I know, I’m watching the game.’ So I said, ‘OK, I call you after the game.’

Aikman obviously didn't end up accepting the offer.

It turns out that this isn't the first time that Aikman has told this story. Check out what Sam Farmer of the LA Times wrote back in 2009.

It's notable that Aikman was not at all opposed to the idea of playing for the Eagles, even though there's no love between Philadelphia and Dallas.

"The decision for me not to come back and play had absolutely nothing to do with that," he said. "The reason I didn't go and play for Philadelphia is because I knew that it was just going to be for a few games to end the season. There was no future in it. McNabb was their guy. He was going to come back and play."

Aikman as an Eagle would have been pretty weird for both Philly fans and Cowboys fans. It's always interesting to hear about these signings and trades that "almost" happen but ultimately don't.

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