14 big-name NFL team-ups that never happened: Andy Reid to the Cardinals, Tom Brady to the Dolphins, and more

The NFL offseason is perhaps best known for its big-name player movement. This year alone, for example, Pro Bowlers like Kirk Cousins, Saquon Barkley and Stefon Diggs swapped teams via trade or free agency. Just as often as blockbuster moves occur, however, spicy rumors can end up being just that: rumors. With roughly seven months between meaningful football games, it’s no wonder some of the most intriguing roster shuffles never come to fruition, instead morphing into imaginative folklore.

With that in mind, what are some of the juiciest big-name NFL team-ups that never happened, despite past rumblings otherwise? Here’s a look at 14 of the wildest what-ifs of recent memory:

The most accomplished quarterback of all time relocated to Florida for the final three seasons of his 23-year career, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have been his Plan B. As Brady’s historic title-winning partnership with the New England Patriots was winding down, the Dolphins breached NFL rules by communicating with the quarterback, reportedly eyeing the seven-time Super Bowl champion as a future owner/executive/player. After retiring in 2023, Brady openly teased a potential Dolphins team-up again.

Before the Indianapolis Colts great joined the Denver Broncos in 2012, breathing new life into Mile High City as one of the most prized free agents of all time, Manning was admittedly “pretty close” to joining the Colts’ AFC South rivals. Late Titans owner Bud Adams made a public pitch to the star quarterback, who was coming off a serious neck injury at the time, and Manning already had ties to the area, playing college ball at Tennessee. In the end, he preferred Denver’s talent, and went on to win it all in 2015.

Who needs NBA free agency when you can draw the NFL? Basketball’s gold standard with four NBA titles and MVP awards, James has long teased interest in football, but the Los Angeles Lakers star could’ve put pen to paper on a literal NFL contract when the NBA’s 2011-2012 season was delayed to a lockout. James revealed later that both Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and then-Seahawks coach Pete Carroll offered him tryouts at the time. James declined but is confident he would’ve made it as a quasi-tight end. 

Marino is synonymous with the Miami Dolphins, for whom he played his entire 17-year Hall of Fame career. But the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback strongly considered returning to his hometown of Pittsburgh after the Dolphins declined to exercise his contract for the 2000 season, he revealed later. The Minnesota Vikings were also in play for the former MVP, according to Marino, but ultimately, rather than start fresh at the age of 39, he opted for retirement as a “Dolphin for life.”

Troy Aikman to the Miami Dolphins

Long before rumors of a Tom Brady team-up first surfaced, Miami tried luring another Super Bowl champion to South Beach. Aikman had been retired for two years in 2003, well removed from his peak as a three-time title-winner with the Dallas Cowboys, when the Dolphins expressed interest, believing “they were a quarterback away.” The future Hall of Famer trained for a return to the field, but Miami later reversed course, he claimed, “which was probably a good thing.”

Favre is known perhaps as much for the colorful finish to his career as his Hall of Fame gunslinging, infamously retiring and unretiring to bounce between the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and then Minnesota Vikings. Before the three-time MVP shocked Lambeau faithful by suiting up in purple for NFC North rivals, however, Favre had also circled Chicago as a top destination, he later told Sports Illustrated. One way or another, it seems, the longtime Packers star wanted little more than to play his old team.

Only one other player — Jerry Rice — has more all-time receiving yards than Fitzgerald, making him arguably the greatest player in Arizona Cardinals history. About halfway through his 11-time Pro Bowl career, however, Fitzgerald was almost traded to the Eagles, whom he’d go on to beat in the 2008 NFC title game. Philadelphia was desperate to give Donovan McNabb better weapons at the time, Fitzgerald later revealed, but the wideout ended up securing a long-term contract extension in Arizona.

The Chargers weren’t the only party to ditch San Diego; more than a decade before the franchise moved back to Los Angeles, Manning was selected first overall by the Chargers in the 2004 draft. The only problem, as has been well-documented: The Ole Miss product refused to play for the club, and was immediately traded to the New York Giants for a package that included fellow first-round quarterback Philip Rivers. Both sides would benefit, though Manning prevailed by hoisting two Lombardis in New York.

Drew Brees to the Miami Dolphins

It turns out almost every elite quarterback gets a look from the Dolphins, eh? Two years after the Manning-Rivers exchange shook up the Chargers’ quarterback room, Brees hit free agency as San Diego’s incumbent and ended up joining the New Orleans Saints, for whom he’d play another 15 years as a Super Bowl champion and record-breaking passer. But Louisiana only became home after Miami courted Brees, only to infamously back out of the pursuit due to concerns over his surgically repaired shoulder.

Andy Reid to the Arizona Cardinals

Dismissed by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 following a 14-year run in the City of Brotherly Love, Reid’s first stop in the interview cycle was set for Phoenix, where the Cardinals were a few years removed from an improbable Super Bowl appearance with Kurt Warner. Except Kansas City Chiefs management, including owner Clark Hunt, rushed to the airport to get to Reid first, according to ESPN. Their encounter went so well that Reid never bothered to speak with Arizona. The rest is Super Bowl-littered history.

Roethlisberger only ever played for the Pittsburgh Steelers during his vaunted 18-year career, but the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback was nearly dealt to the Bay Area circa 2010, former 49ers coach Mike Singletary later claimed. The Steelers all but openly shopped Roethlisberger after “Big Ben” was accused of sexual assault around that time, with the Oakland Raiders also tabbed a potential landing spot. In the end, Roethlisberger stuck around, restoring his perception as a face of the franchise.

In recent years, Wilson has become a journeyman, flopping as a big-money Broncos addition and looking to revive his career with the Steelers in 2024. In the midst of his best years, however, the former Seattle Seahawks star was widely considered one of the game’s most poised signal-callers. That didn’t stop Seattle from offering the Super Bowl champion to the Browns ahead of the 2018 draft, according to ESPN. Cleveland rejected the apparent overtures, using the No. 1 pick in that draft on Baker Mayfield.

Bruce Arians to the Chicago Bears

The longtime assistant helped revive the Cardinals by taking Arizona to two playoff appearances in 2014-2015, then teamed up with Tom Brady on the Buccaneers to deliver Tampa Bay a Super Bowl in 2020. Prior to both stops, Arians was seen as a favorite to land in Windy City, where he apparently coveted the chance to work with quarterback Jay Cutler. Instead, the Bears hired former CFL coach Marc Trestman, who would last just a single season atop their staff.

Philip Rivers to the San Francisco 49ers

The former Chargers standout entered the NFL as a 2004 first-round pick, just like Ben Roethlisberger. Like Big Ben, Rivers also almost finished his career in San Francisco. Though he technically retired in 2021 after a 17-year run primarily as the face of the Bolts, Rivers was on speed dial as the 49ers’ emergency quarterback throughout the 2023 season, coach Kyle Shanahan later revealed. Had San Francisco reached the Super Bowl that year, Rivers might’ve been called upon at the age of 41.