This is often something I ask myself after Fitzgerald makes a Fitz like catch. I mean who doesn't? But an article recently published by NFL.com sheds a scary possibility that nearly occurred in 2008.

Fitzgerald told CSNPhilly.com that the Cardinals nearly pulled the trigger on a trade that would have sent Fitzgerald to Philadelphia for a 1st and 3rd Round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Why would Arizona do this? Fitzgerald was a salary cap problem in 2008 and 2009 with his total money due over the course of those two years being a staggering 32 million dollars. Fortunately the Cardinals cut 8 million dollars off when they re-signed him in March of that year. While it's easy to play the 'What If' game, it's interesting to think about. It's clear the Cardinals would have selected Beanie Wells, but who would we have selected after that? The Eagles held the 19th Overall pick due to trades during the season, thus would have been the Cardinals pick.. They selected Jeremy Maclin with that selection. Would he have been the guy? Or would Arizona have drafted a quarterback to build for Kurt Warners looming retirement?

There's no word on what caused the trade to not go through, but it's incredibly lucky that something, or someone, caused the trade to die.

Thoughts?