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3 blockbuster trades the Denver Broncos almost made, but didn’t

By Sayre Bedinger

Denver Broncos: Tony Romo #9 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 1, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles defeated the Cowboys 27-13. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Denver Broncos: Tony Romo #9 of the Dallas Cowboys warms up prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 1, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles defeated the Cowboys 27-13. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Denver Broncos
DENVER – OCTOBER 30: Terrell Owens #81 of the Philadelphia Eagles goes 46 yards for a third quarter first down on a pass from Donovan McNabb and is brought down by Champ Bailey #24 of the Denver Broncos as the Broncos defeated the Eagles 49-21 on October 30, 2005 at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

2. Terrell Owens was a trade target of the Denver Broncos in 2006

In the 2006 offseason, Mike Shanahan was ready to make wholesale changes to his roster. The Broncos got crushed on their home field in the playoffs by Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, something that undoubtedly didn’t set well with Mike or Pat Bowlen at the time, because that loss to the Steelers caused the Broncos to miss a golden opportunity against a rather weak Seattle Seahawks team that might have gotten housed by any AFC team in hindsight.

Shanahan was ready to go all-in on some championship-caliber moves, and he ended up doing so, but one move he wasn’t able to make in the 2006 offseason was landing superstar wide receiver Terrell Owens.

Owens’ final game of the 2005 season was a three-catch, 154-yard performance against Champ Bailey and the Broncos before he was suspended and made inactive by Philadelphia. The Eagles were going to dump him, and Shanahan was always more than willing to take on big personalities to try and maximize their talent in his system. And oftentimes, it worked.

Unfortunately, exciting January trade rumors and reports of the Broncos seriously considering the star receiver never came to fruition. Owens ended up getting released by the Eagles in March and to stick it to them, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys where he played three seasons, had over 1,000 yards in each of them, and 38 total touchdowns.

Mike Shanahan had to be sick watching Tony Romo and Terrell Owens thrive in Dallas when he wanted them both so badly.

Although we never got to hear Owens say, “That’s my quarterback,” in orange and blue, we did see the Broncos make some massive moves in that 2006 offseason, including trading for Packers wide receiver Javon Walker, who had a tremendous 2006 campaign with the Broncos.

Still, although the Walker trade was exciting at the time, the much better long-term investment (or short-term, for that matter) would have been Owens.

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