Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman was awfully close to coming out of retirement to play for an NFC team, the three-time Super Bowl champion revealed.
Aikman retired at the age of 34 in 2000 because of concussion issues. The Dallas Cowboys released him in 2001, and the future Canton inductee decided to call it quits rather than wait for another offer to come along.
But as it turns out, Aikman was very close to making a comeback at the age of 36 back in 2003.
During an appearance on “The Adam Schefter Podcast” (h/t Sam Neumann of Awful Announcing), the Cowboys’ legend revealed that he nearly un-retired in 2003 to suit up for the Miami Dolphins.
“I had a chance initially and I was gonna do it quite honestly. I was gonna come back and the Dolphins were looking at me. Dave Wannstedt was the head coach. Norv Turner was the offensive coordinator. I had trained that offseason, prepared to come back and play. And they felt like they were a quarterback away from achieving what they wanted to do…
“So, I was gonna do it. I thought, ‘Well, I’ll give it a shot.’ Rick Spielman was the general manager…and he ultimately was the one, I believe, that decided not to sign me, which was probably a good thing from their perspective. And it was a great thing from my perspective because they weren’t a quarterback away. I think they won six games that year. They were not very good. It all worked out just fine.”
The Dolphins actually went 10-6, even though their quarterbacks combined for a 57.1 completion percentage and 17 touchdowns against 19 interceptions. They just barely missed out on the postseason, but one can only wonder if a healthy Aikman could have been the ultimate-difference maker for Miami.
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Following Dan Marino’s retirement in 2000, the Dolphins were held back by lackluster quarterback play for nearly two full decades. But a healthy Tua Tagovailoa (the No. 5 pick of the 2020 NFL Draft), has been quite the difference-maker in Miami, leading the club to three straight winning seasons.
As for Aikman, he’s enjoyed a successful broadcasting career following his NFL playing days. Aikman and Joe Buck are set to kick off another season together on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” program next Monday.
