Troy Aikman could have played for the Eagles

Troy Aikman, hall of fame and three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback of Dallas Cowboys, could have been a Philadelphia Eagle once upon a time. Just thinking about Aikman in midnight green is a bit strange just because for a long time in the late 80’s and early 90’s he was one of the faces of the Cowboys franchise.

It almost reminds me of when Emmitt Smith played for the Arizona Cardinals and that was strange too. Some things in life should just not be tampered with.

On Monday, Aikman was on KESN-FM 103.3 in Dallas and talked about how he almost came out of retirement to play for the Eagles and how then head coach Andy Reid had called him during the middle of a broadcast to gauge interest.

Here is what Aikman said per 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 continued the story saying that he talked it over with then-San Diego Chargers head coach Norv Turner and called Reid back to tell him that he had to sleep on it. Aikman ultimately decided that his playing days were over but was honored that Reid gave him a call.

More from Aikman:

“Koy Detmer took over and he got hurt the very next game himself. Then A.J. Feeley came in. He led them to like four or five wins and held it together and then Donovan McNabb came back and they made it all the way to the NFC championship game, so it worked out well for everybody. It’s just made a good story for me.”

I don’t want to play the what if game with this scenario but what if Aikman did play for the Eagles, how would he be perceived in Philadelphia, would the Eagles still make it to the playoffs, would he lead the birds over the Buccaneers in the NFC Championship and take them to the Super Bowl. All of those questions and scenarios will be left alone but it’s still interesting to think about.