Hall of Fame former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman again drew the interest of NFL fans this week when he detailed the time he considered -- for a day -- an offer to come out of retirement and play for the Eagles.
Although Aikman has told the story before, his comments this week suggested that he was more seriously considering the offer during the 2002 season than he has previously let on.
“I retired, got into broadcasting. Then it was two years later when I got a call from Andy Reid in the middle of a game that I was broadcasting after Donovan McNabb had broken his leg,” Aikman said, via the Dallas Morning News. “He wanted me to sign with Philadelphia and come out of retirement right then and go to work for them. And I gave it some consideration - actually I told Andy I was going to sleep on it and call him in the morning. I called my producer at FOX and asked him what he thought my career was long-term in television. Then I called [former Cowboys offensive coordinator] Norv Turner and talked to him about it from the football perspective. And I woke up the next morning and I just thought, ‘Man, is this something I really want to do?’ And I decided against it. So I called Andy and said, ‘Look. I appreciate the interest, but I’m going to stay put and best of luck.’ And they ended up going on and having success with A.J. Feely. And ultimately they made it to the NFC Championship Game that year.”
The Cowboys actually released Aikman before he retired, so there was nothing contractual stopping him from signing with any team thereafter. But Aikman was 36 years old, hadn’t played in two years, and hadn’t played very well the last year he did play. It’s highly unlikely the Eagles would have been as good with a rusty, old Aikman at the helm as they were with Feely, a backup who helped the Eagles go 4-1 in the five games he started that season. Aikman did Reid a favor by turning him down.
